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(Dayton, OH-AP) -- Researchers around the country are working to devise better ways to detect chemical attacks.
Currently, the Army detects chemicals on the battlefield by shooting a laser beam into an area and using a receiver to read the wavelengths of light that are given off. Certain wavelengths indicate certain chemicals.
But laser technology is bulky.
So researchers are working on chemical fingerprinting in Connecticut, a "sniffer" on a drone in New Mexico, a laser beam in Utah, and optics in Dayton.
University of Dayton researchers are trying to make the receivers more sensitive by converting the laser signal to a telecommunications wavelength using optics.
Changing the signal would enable the military to take advantage of sophisticated detectors, amplifiers and fibers developed by the telecommunications industry.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
