I ask you, just how insanely paranoid are Americans?

Bush is a twat.

Considering the majority of "legitimate nuclear industry" work sites ban cellphones of any kind, I don't see how these will actually help them.

@ANoel: Ban.

I don't think they're paranoid, they just have too much time on their hands, as the article in the Purdue student paper, The Exponent, says they worked on this stuff for 6 months without funding. Really weird that Giz and Exponent wrote on this on the same day.

Interesting story below it about the Digital Literacy Contest. It's a competition to test your "ability to use the internet as a cognitive prosthetic." Extremely well-written article if I do say so myself, but then again I wrote it :)

I'd love it if there were a "Patriot Discount" option in my cell phone plan. Add a geiger counter, get $5 off your monthly bill.

...That's not so far out of the realm of possibility, is it?

@ntrgc89 + 20pts for self plug. sha-ZAM... gonna read it.

@ANoel: Yeah because Bush is on the board at the Indiana State DOT, AND because trying to detect a threat before it hurts you == paranoya.

u r a douche' and a twat

my comment:
the idea of arrayed tiny sensors is cheap and the use of an existing network to manage it is really slick too. According to the press release, you could use the software with lots of types of sensors. One could extrapolate that to mean that it's soon possible to check for not just radiation but, gas leaks, temperature, perfume of specific babes, etc. I'm into it, and I'm smart enough to see that this is a cool adaptable technology instead of just a product of being afraid.

@ANoel: you're still a douche' (pronounced "doosh-AY")

@Dunny0: Partially true. You can't take cellphones inside security fences, which are usually small localized perimeters outside certain facilities.

These aren't really geiger counters, which are practically useless in identifying radiation sources since energy deposition is lost upon detection. These are small solid state detectors, most likely silicon (germanium requires liquid N2 cooling). If you've ever used a solid state detector, even with a fairly active source as soon as you move more than few feet away, accurate spectroscopy requires a fairly long time interval which you don't have when something is passing by in a truck. Elements such as Pu are largely self shielding as well. Something like millimeter thickness of Pu can be approximated as infinitely thick.

IMO this technology doesn't offer much of a practical consideration.

@giz Potassium in your body is typically the single largest source of background radiation you receive. Something like 5000 disintegrations per second of potassium pulses 1460 keV gammas from your body.

So my Patriot Phone (pPhone?) would constantly report my location to the Federal Government, along with other environmental information?

Is that Big Brother in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

Don't bring one of these to a screening of "Alien".
They will tend to false on ya.

@DomZ: BAN

BY DOMZ AT 01/17/08 10:23 PM Jobs = dick.

OK let's trade... Bush is a dick. Jobs is a twat.
Feel better doucebag?

@evan394:
I don't really know where to begin except to say:
1. I'm not French.
2. Bush War on Terror is a War on Americans, current and for generations.

JUST what we needed... sensors to detect dirty underwear bombs.
Tell me, my misinformed friend, exactly how many planes have been brought down by nail clipper attacks, by exploding toothpaste and shampoo, how many WMD have been found... then tell me how many innocent people have been killed and how many trillions of dollars have been squandered and tell me also why the multinationals have sold out American jobs and nearly ruined the economy.
You DO have something to be paranoid about and it's not on your doorstep, it's in your house.

I DONT KNOW WHAT WE'RE FIGHTING ABOUT!

@rainfever:
That Sir, is a GREAT question!
Props.

Maybe if you knew what it was like knowing two massive buildings, thousands of innocent lives, millions of dollars, and then some, were destroyed by planes hijacked by terrorists who hate everything about you for no apparent reason, you'd understand.
We let our guard down once, and we paid for it. We're not leaving the door open to have something happen again.

Good thing that this isn't already in use. I worked with radioactive material almost every day with my cell phone in my pocket. Sorry guys false alarm "Don't taze me bro!"

@spatchpatch: the attacks on the WTC were huge and tragic, of course. but having everyone with a cell phone in the country looking for dirty bombs? yes, that is paranoia. anoel was simply referring to the system of fear that the bush administration so carefully constructed. running around thinking everyone is a terrorist and someone's trying to kill you at every turn is just silly. relatively speaking, america is a very safe place.