London Planning To Use Weapon Scanner To Find Concealed Knives

The x-rays are too weak to go through a person, but they do go right through clothes and they get bounced back much like radar.
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Wow. I was under the impression that x-rays are not reflected by dense objects, but rather absorbed causing the object to heat up. The amount of x-ray energy used, for example, to X-ray your bag at the airport isn't enough to cause any humanly-perceptible heating of the bag; it might raise the bag's temperature 1/100th of a degree or something. But, I guess that there might be some back-scattering. And, with enough processor horsepower, you might be able to extract an image from it.

Wow. Learn something new everyday. It's always good to get that over with early in the day. I can go back to bed now. :D
 
As is usual for me, a few random thoughts come to mind:

There could be a large business opportunity here for "security clothes" that have shielded areas for privacy. These areas could be for modesty or for hiding whatever you deem that you value the hiding of.

Privacy pockets could emerge that make a holster or blade or whatever look like loose change or some collection of "normal" stuff.

I wonder if there could be spoofing undergarments that would show whatever you want to show, hiding you and yours underneath? Could people wear "fat suits" that will make them larger, and able to have privacy underneath?

There could also be a market for clothes that would curse at the scanners. Looks normal to the eye and feels normal, but anything could be written in the clothing. Possibly the new silver fibers or some other different density stuff could be woven into the fabric.

Prank clothing that has the images of various frowned upon items imbedded into the fabric of the clothing. Get your friends taken down in a felony stop. Laugh about it over a pint later. (if everyone survives...)

Scan detection technology could warn of the direction of the impending scan so that modesty or privacy concerned individuals could turn appropriately to shield certain parts of their daily or 24/7 carry.

Body modification gone wild. The ever increasing level of BM could now step up to help with individual security by creating organic pockets. Since this is a surface scan, how deep under tissue would that artifact have to be covered so it does not show?

Since we now can see thru clothing, will certain articles worn for purely for modesty be, shall we say, dropped?

Combining the previous 2 (to either coin or slaughter a new word)randomemes, could those with above average droopiness and bagginess of various types of tissues have natural hiding places beneath various sags, bags, overlaps and droops? Could an increase of both obesity and lack of supporting undergarments be simply a rebellious stroke against the prying eyes of big brother?

Carrying this another step, when will the scanners step up operations to frisk or further search those who have either abundant natural hiding places or those whose clothing might be hiding something else? Or simply those it looks like it would be fun to frisk?

At what point will it be illegal to attempt to thwart the government's eyes? It would probably be politically incorrect, and labeled homophobic, to demand instead to be frisked by a heterosexual member of one's own gender instead of viewed by the random authorized person. If enough people either hide something or just look like they might be hiding something, the plan will either be abandoned or taken up yet more notches.

Bottom line, the wife will not be wandering around getting visually groped by the government.
 
The amount of energy back-scattered has got to be tiny and the information it contains will be heavily buried in noise. So, how about a jammer device?

I'm told that some drivers equip their cars with small, battery-operated devices that emit radar waves to confuse police radar. I wouldn't know anything about such activities, of course -- nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more, say Nooooooh more.

Could such a small, battery-operated device be constructed that would emit a pulse of x-ray energy (and it we're not talking about a lot of energy here, nothing harmful) to deliberately confuse these scanners?
 
WOW! Someone has finally invented a pair of X-ray glasses that work. I wonder if it looks like the pair shown in the old comic books. How many box tops do I need to send in? :D

Yup! the market for X-ray proof clothing is here.

(So much for yet another piece of dialog from Forbidden Planet)

Robby the Robot: Radiation Proof?
Altaira (Anne Francis): No, just eye proof. :rolleyes:

n2s
 
It was my original opinion that they would be using sound waves as a sort of radar and then arranging a picture by digital technology. X-rays of any sort are slightly carcinogenic. Not that that would deter the clothes police on the side of the person being spied upon, but it would affect the operator who would be exposed to the waves for long periods. They wouldn't worry about us, but they would worry about them. Sound technology (ultra or sub) is less harmful than the more high frequency electromagnetic waves ( such as X or gamma).
More inportant is the political climate. Would people in London be so concerned about safety that they would give up their personal liberty to this degree? John Ashcroft could take a lesson, and don't think the American Govt. isn't watching this event carefully.
The best thing to do is allow any citizen without a criminal history to carry concealed weapons, if they use them in a criminal manner, then they lose that right along with their freedom. That's not going to happen. Start talking about terrorism and people are more than willing to jettison their liberties. A world of wusses.
 
Uath: It's ironic, isn't it? We're somehow preserving the liberty and American way by sacrificing our liberties to those who threathen them. We're a bunch of blind saps.
 
I seem to remember awhile back their was a camcorder that had a night view system. But on the first versions of this camcorder there was nothing to prevent it from working during the day in the light, and it was able to see through clothing.

And regarding those jammers, ummm whomever "doesnt" have one better make sure its a version thats not picked up by the police anti jammer technology. I think they've made it a law you cant jam their radar!:grumpy:
 
I recently saw an image produced by backscatter x-ray technology. It was of a woman subject, and the image was, shall we say, quite revealing, the closest thing yet to the comic book x-ray glasses. I think the biggest hurdle to its use (in the US in airports) is the privacy factor. You'll have operators gawking over the attractive passengers.
 
Actually, the anti-radar-jamming laws don't hold up in court. Emitting radio signals is the exclusive domain of the Federal Communications Commisssion. Courts have repeatedly held that it is in the vital national interest that radio signals be regulated on a national basis, not by states or cities. FCC rules allow devices to emit low-levels of radio energy without a license. Your PC does this, for example. A few years ago, when PCs were still running around 100MHz, they would sometimes interfer with FM radios in the same room.



3D imaging using sonic back scatter is not new. Doctors have been using ultrasound to image inside the body for decades. If you or anyone you know has had a baby in the last decade or so, you've been treated to the ultrasound images.

I remember when these first started becoming common years ago. It was like looking at an unused TV channel with just static and snow while the expectant father exclaimed, "Look, you can see the baby's head!"

"Where?"

"Right there! Don't you see it?"

"Oh... ok. You must give me the name of your optometrist."

I got to see some the other day and they were so clear. It was just shy of a photograph. You could clearly see the baby's face. You could make out the individual toes on the baby's feet. The parents had elected not to learn the baby's gender, so selected areas were blacked out. Just amazing clarity.

But, that's accomplished with a transducer that actually touches the patient through a special sonically-conductive gel and done in a room that's very quiet.

To use this same technology to image a subject walking down a busy street from feet away would be incredible.

I also think it would be even easier to jam.
 
Pamela Anderson: Excuse me officer, buy why have you been following me around all day?

Police Officer: I suspect you might be carrying weapons ma'am. If you would please face me for a moment. All right...now...could you jiggle a little? Oooh yeah. Oh you've been a naughtie girl...love the camera...
 
If it is based on metal-concentration technology,
then carry harmless metal objects and ask all of your friends to do the same. If you make the system pointless, it will go away.
 
I'm pretty sure that we've established that it is not based on metal concentration. It is based on backscatter x-ray technology.

Normal x-rays go straight through the human body, being absorbed and reflected at different rates by different types of tissue. This is what allows doctors to distinguish bones from tissue, and normal tissue from cancer. This new backscatter technology uses a much lower level of radiation than normal x-ray machines and instead of looking at the x-rays that go through the person it looks that the energy that bounces back. This allows it to penetrate thin items like clothing but still bounce back when it hits tissue or other types of material (Zytel, steel, etc.) Wired published an article about this technology a few months back.
 
Hmm. All I'll say is that if they expose me to x-ray radiation without my consent... Well, it'd be ugly. Want a x-ray jammer? A 45 Colt should do the job nicely. I almost feel sorry for the brits... But they kinda brought this on themselves so tuff luck. If it comes to the states, and I'm around, you'd better duck.

Yet another message from the guy that still carries knives when he goes to the airport(no I don't fly, but I pick up family members fairly often. TSA is the biggest joke around, just go sit in front of the "security" check points a while and watch them - I'd love to be an overpaid prick like them but I don't like dealing with so many people)
 
ok, everyone back to the days of nakedness and loincloths... make the system redundant.

Really, other than nature's pocket, where are you gonna carry stuff? Can only carry so much IWB like that, such as car keys and wallet(and who's gonna pickpocket from that)... solves all crime!
:D
 
Originally posted by Gollnick
Actually, the anti-radar-jamming laws don't hold up in court. Emitting radio signals is the exclusive domain of the Federal Communications Commisssion. Courts have repeatedly held that it is in the vital national interest that radio signals be regulated on a national basis, not by states or cities. FCC rules allow devices to emit low-levels of radio energy without a license. Your PC does this, for example. A few years ago, when PCs were still running around 100MHz, they would sometimes interfer with FM radios in the same room.
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I can see it now – our hero (and musical director) Gollnick, goes to London on a mission to test the new Bladeforums body scanner cloaking device. And it works! The bobbies can’t see Gollnick’s Balisongs!

Then it happened. On his way to see Big Ben, the bobbies notice that Gollnick is the only person in the crowd whose clothes they can’t see through. The next thing he knows, Gollnick is being dragged off to the ancient super secret dungeon under Buckingham Palace, where they stretch him out on the rack until he tells them what terrorist group he belongs to and why he has so many Balisongs?

Once the Brits are convinced the now taller Gollnick is a harmless knifeknut, they deport him to gitmo for more extensive interrogation and to see if any of the real terrorists recognize him. :D





- Frank
 
Originally posted by Uath
Would people in London be so concerned about safety that they would give up their personal liberty to this degree?...Start talking about terrorism and people are more than willing to jettison their liberties. A world of wusses.
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Duh! :D

Originally posted by jrollins
they kinda brought this on themselves so tuff luck
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fair point


Originally posted by frank k
the ancient super secret dungeon under Buckingham Palace, where they stretch him out on the rack until he tells them..... the Brits are convinced the now taller Gollnick is a harmless knifeknut
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OK, for one thing, we haven't used the rack since at least the 70's (except for the occasional S&M gameshow on Channel 5)..... and in in the old U of K, "harmless" and "knifeknut" would NEVER be found in the same sentence!!
 
A device like that will no doubt be very useful in separating the good guys from the bad but the downside is it can also be misused quite easily.

Thus, society may frown on its usage if it is applied too liberally in the streets of London.

Anything mechanical can make mistakes so if a person is unnecessarily searched and nothing unlawful is found, will there be a case of lawsuit to regain one's dignity?

:p
 
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