Radiation to Detect Metals/Alloys

[mario]

Forget sonar or even HV Pi! Here's something more whacky, yet theoretically feasible.

Every one knows radiation ionizes air (conducts electricity across air molecules). Radiation also penetrates deep (think underground bunkers).

Has any one attempted to exploit these two properties to detect metals? With modern day's understanding of radiation, I can see some one build something safe!

Any thoughts?

[Tepco]

I'm afraid no one will use it for prospecting any time soon. Radiation (x and gamma rays are of interest here, not charged particles, they will be stopped immediately) is somewhat peculiar. Penetrating power depends on medium density and "energy", that is KeV or MeV, (another way to express wavelength or frequency). And it not reflects or bend etc, like radio or microwaves, just tends to go thru anything like on X-ray film. It interact whit matter, but on atomic level, and many valuable analytical methods using for example Compton scattering etc are developed and widely used, but you can't build normal "optics" in this range, neither put some form of detector or film below search area in the ground. NDT (non destructive testing) is mature field, but not even remotely similar to what we used to do whit detectors.

Company POC (www.poc.com) developed and patented (US 7231017) something similar to handheld X-ray imaging device called LEXID (already mentioned on this forum, probably in some LRL tread), but it is long way to go (and i'm somewhat skeptical about this device).

Or really deep penetrating neutron radiation...Better to stick to nonionizing radiation like GPR at this point