Nuclear Methods in Landmine Detection The Problem: Landmines There are nearly 50 million unexploded landmines in 60 countries around the world. These landmines cause approximately 10,000 deaths per year. Large portions of land go unused due to fear of mines. Modern Mines: Modern mines can be constructed with plastics and composites. The low metal content of mines makes detection extremely difficult. A plastic mine Current Detection Methods: Metal Detectors Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) Probing All the methods above can The Search be extremely dangerous. The Solution: Nuclear LMD How it Works: All explosives have high concentrations of both N and O. By shooting neutrons into the soil concentrations of N, O, and H can be determined. If concentrations of N and O are high in a particular area, there is likely an explosive. Future Detectors: … will likely be robotic and combine nuclear detection techniques with GPR and GPS. This combination will allow for extreme accuracy and speed with minimal false alarms. The Physics: The detector uses both thermal and fast neutrons to cause gamma ray emissions from N, O, and H. A gamma ray spectrometer can then be used to determine if the concentrations of N and O are high. The neutrons can be produced by either D-T fusion or radioisotopes. Other Applications: Airport Security The same technology used in nuclear LMD can also be used to scan luggage in airports This technology will allow faster and far more accurate scanning of luggage. Airport luggage scanner This poster is designed to accompany a “landmine detector simulation”. This consists of a Geiger counter attached to an remote controlled car. The students can take turns using the car to look for buried “landmines” (radioactive sources) that you have hidden in a box of sand or under pieces of carpet or paper. Coupled with this poster, the activity is a great way to explain the concept of a real landmine detector (and neutron activation) to them. This event has proven very popular with students over the past few years.