Vapor Detection of Explosives for Counter-Terrorism

The September 11th disaster on the twin towers was one of the most horrible terrorist attacks worldwide. In consequence of this attack a worldwide intensive discussion started concerning terrorism and the ways to protect society against terrorism. In the context of this debate the detection of explosives in an early stage of terrorist approach is one of the prominent chances for protection. But up to now several draw backs hamper the fast and easy detection of explosives and it is assumed that a 100 % guarantee to detect all explosives can never be reached. On the other hand an enhanced knowledge about the chemical behavior of explosives and byproducts in a real environment would give a vital input for research and development of more increasingly powerful sensor systems for the detection of explosives.