What do bananas, smoke alarms, toilets and large granite buildings have in common? They're all sufficiently radioactive to set off detectors. Efforts since 9/11 to prevent the detonation of a dirty ...

A smartphone camera can make you a walking gamma ray detector. Without needing any extra hardware, you could get a warning on your phone when you're approaching potentially harmful levels of gamma ...

A new detector system based on the game 'Tetris' could enable inexpensive, accurate radiation detectors for monitoring nuclear sites. The spread of radioactive isotopes from the Fukushima Daiichi ...

The University of Jyväskylä (Finland), in collaboration with the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK), has developed a new type of handheld multi-purpose radiation detector that ...

Gamification A new design inspired by Tetris could reduce the cost and boost the accuracy of accurate radiation detectors used for monitoring nuclear sites. (Courtesy: Ella Maru Studio) Inspired by ...

Wireless real-time radiation sensor networks offer the general public and those that work in high radiation areas greater protection against radiation hazards. Combined with real-time localized and ...

A lighthouse is built to shed light on rocky waters, the light turning at the top of a tower to illuminate sections of a dark shoreline that might harm incoming boats. Researchers from Los Alamos ...

Following the news that the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan might be emitting dangerous levels of radiation, workers and officials have only been permitted to get so close to ...

In our Weekly Innovation series, we pick an interesting idea, design or product that you may not have heard of yet. Do you have an innovation to share? Use our form. A smartphone camera can make you a ...