T-rays, or the light waves in the terahertz range, are invisible to the human eye. Until now, it wasn’t possible to effectively detect these rays using any equipment but thanks to a new solution, it has finally been made possible.
The solution offered by University of Michigan researchers is quite simple but brilliant. The devices which are currently used to measure T-rays are inefficient or unreliable. In some cases, they heat up too much and thus prove impractical for the purpose of detecting the T-rays.
A new method devised by the aforementioned group of researchers proposes an alternate way of working with T-rays. Explaining the method, Professor Jay Guo says, “We convert the T-ray light into sound. Our detector is sensitive, compact and works at room temperature, and we’ve made it using an unconventional approach.”
For this purpose, the researchers used a transducer. As soon as t-rays hit the transducer, their energy is absorbed and converted into heat. The heat is directly supplied to a network of spongy polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) plastic. This network, in turn, creates an ultrasound wave which is picked up by a microring resonator, accurately determining the wave’s attributes.
In this way, scientists are now able to measure and detect t-rays by converting them to sound. With this new method, we may finally be able to apply t-rays to a whole lot of useful applications such as improved airport security, better medical imaging, a more accurate map of our universe and so much more.
Source: University of Michigan
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