Terahertz radiation has been in the news, or at least the news that doesn't hit the headlines, quite a lot recently. It's suggested to be a safe alternative to X-Rays that is still capable of seeing through walls and under cloths and has been promoted for use at airports for advanced scanning of passengers, to determine if they are concealing items.
Boffins at the University of Texas, Dallas, have discussed equipment that could allow people to see through walls, with their specialised CMOS imaging hardware having the potential for smartphone integration.
Amidst privacy concerns, the equipment is being designed to operate at maximum distances of four inches, though could still play a vital roll in verifying documents, detecting counterfeit currency and finding embedded objects. Less gadgety applications involve the detection of cancerous tumours, diagnosing disease through breath analysis and monitoring air toxicity. It would be pretty amazing to have an 'app for that'.
Despite the University's claims, we all know that somewhere, there is a student, running loose around the campus with fully functional X-Ray specs.
