Key Points
- NIST has developed a new, significantly faster method for detecting and measuring radioactivity.
- The technique uses a super-cold sensor to get a detailed “energy fingerprint” of radioactive particles.
- It can identify both the type and amount of radioactivity in days, rather than months.
- Potential applications include enhancing cancer treatments, nuclear energy production, and environmental remediation.
Scientists have developed a groundbreaking new way to detect and measure radioactivity. The new technique, created by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), is much faster and more accurate than older methods. It could lead to major advances in everything from improving cancer treatments to making nuclear waste cleanup safer. The NIST team has published its results in Metrologia.
The key to the new method is a high-tech device called a transition-edge sensor (TES). This sensor operates at extremely low temperatures, approaching absolute zero. When a radioactive particle decays, the sensor absorbs the energy, resulting in a slight change in its electrical resistance.
By precisely measuring this change, scientists obtain a detailed “energy signature,” akin to a fingerprint, for the radioactive material. This allows them to identify exactly what is radioactive and how much of it there is simultaneously.
In the past, fully analyzing a radioactive sample could take months and required multiple different tests. This new method changes that completely. Researchers can now obtain a comprehensive radioactivity profile from a small sample in just a few days. To do this, they use a special inkjet device to place a minuscule drop of the material onto a gold foil, which is then measured by the sensor.
This breakthrough marks the first step in a larger NIST project, called “TrueBq,” named after the unit used to measure radioactivity. The ultimate goal is to create a new gold standard for these measurements.
While the technology is currently being perfected at NIST, the team hopes to develop portable versions in the future that can be used directly in hospitals, at environmental cleanup sites, and in the nuclear industry, making these fields safer and more efficient.
