Method and apparatus for detecting, locating, and analyzing chemical compounds using subatomic particle activation

A system for detecting explosives shielded by another material, comprising:

• a land mobile vehicle, said vehicle comprising;
• a particle source, said source generating plurality of first subatomic particles and irradiating said explosives and said material with said particles;
• at least one photon detector capable of detecting photons resulting from said irradiation of said explosives;
• and
• at least one subatomic particle detector capable of detecting at least one second subatomic particle resulting from said irradiation of said explosives;
• and
• an analyzer capable of detecting said explosives based on signals output from said at least one photon detector and said at least one particle detector.

A system for detecting the presence of a chemical substance, comprising:

• a particle source, said source generating a plurality of first subatomic particles and irradiating said chemical substance with said particles;
• at least one photon detector capable of detecting photons resulting from said irradiation of said chemical substance;
• at least one subatomic particle detector capable of detecting at least one second subatomic particle resulting from said irradiation of said chemical substance;
• and
• an analyzer capable of detecting said chemical substance based on signals output from said at least one photon detector and said at least one particle detector.

A method detecting the presence of a chemical compound located within an object using a particle beam consisting of one or more subatomic particles, comprising:

• directing said particle beam at said object, said beam inducing nuclear emissions from said chemical compound and said object;
• detecting said nuclear emissions from said object and said compound;
• processing said detected nuclear emissions to substantially eliminate those emissions not of interest;
• and
• detecting said compound by analyzing said detected nuclear emissions which are not eliminated by said processing.

A method of determining the spatial position of a chemical compound located within another object using a particle beam consisting of a plurality of first subatomic particles, comprising:

• directing said particle beam at said object, said beam inducing the emission of a plurality of second subatomic particles and the emission of photons from said chemical compound and said object;
• detecting said emissions of said second subatomic particles from said object and said chemical compound using a detector array, said detector array having a plurality of detector elements each capable of detecting said second subatomic particles, said detector elements being in a known spatial relationship to said object;
• detecting said emissions of said photons from said object and said compound;
• processing said detected emission of said photons to substantially eliminate those photons not of interest;
• correlating the detected photon not eliminated by said processing with said detected emissions of said second subatomic particles;
• and
• determining the spatial position of said chemical compound based on said known spatial relationship of said detector elements.

A coincidence detection system, comprising:

• a plurality of detector elements each capable of the detection of a subatomic particle emitted by an object;
• at least one photon detector capable of the detection of a photon emitted by said object;
• an electronic filter, said filter capable of filtering photons detected by said photon detector based on a predetermined parameter;
• and
• a plurality of parallel coincidence channels formed between said plurality of detector elements and said at least one photon detector, wherein said coincidence channels are capable of determining the coincidence of between said detection of a subatomic particle and said detection of a photon.

A method of detecting coincidences within multiple events, comprising:

• inducing the emission of a plurality of first entities from an object;
• inducing the emission of a plurality of second entities from said object, wherein said emission of said plurality of second entities temporally overlaps at least a portion of said emission of said plurality of first entities;
• detecting said plurality of first entities emitted by said object;
• detecting said plurality of second entities emitted by said object;
• processing said detected plurality of second entities to identify and substantially eliminate those second entities not of interest;
• and
• correlating the detected second entities not eliminated by said processing with said detected plurality of first entities.

A method of identifying a chemical compound using particle activation, comprising:

• inducing the emission of a plurality of photons from said chemical compound;
• detecting said plurality of photons emitted by said chemical compound;
• processing said detected plurality of photons to identify and substantially eliminate those photons not of interest;
• determining the relative proportions of certain constituent atoms within said chemical compound from said detected plurality of photons not eliminated by said processing;
• and
• identifying said chemical compound based on said relative proportions of said constituent atoms.

A method of measuring the performance of a particle activation-based chemical detection system, comprising:

• providing a known mass of a known chemical substance;
• placing said mass in a known environment at a known position relative to said detection system;
• determining a first detection time for said using said detection system;
• changing said known environment or said know position of said mass;
• determining a second detection time for said mass using said detection system;
• and
• deriving a performance factor based on said first and second detection times.

A method of identifying a chemical compound using fast and thermal neutron activation, comprising:

• inducing the emission of a first plurality of photons from said chemical compound, said first plurality of photons resulting from the interaction of said chemical compound with fast neutrons;
• inducing the emission of a second plurality of photons from said chemical compound, said second plurality of photons resulting from the interaction of said chemical compound with thermal neutrons, said thermal neutrons being produced by the thermalization of said fast neutrons;
• detecting said second plurality of photons emitted by said chemical compound;
• generating a signal if said second plurality of photons have a certain characteristic;
• detecting said first plurality of photons emitted by said chemical compound;
• processing said detected first plurality of photons to identify and substantially eliminate those photons not of interest;
• determining the relative proportions of certain constituent atoms within said chemical compound from said detected first plurality of photons not eliminated by said processing;
• and
• identifying said chemical compound based on said relative proportions of said constituent atoms.