Chemscanner
| Portable Chemscanner | |
|---|---|
| Type | Sensory Aid |
| Tech Level | TL–9 |
| Cost | Cr2,000 |
| Size | 1 liter |
| Weight | 1 kg |
A Chemscanner uses a multi-wavelength laser beam to detect specific chemicals in the environment. The technology takes advantage of the idea that chemicals absorb light at specific frequencies, analyzing return signals to determine the specific makeup. Used to detect atmospheric contaminants, composition of the surface of objects, or other too small to be seen objects. There are three versions of the chemscanner, the portable one runs on batteries and required connection to an external display and analysis unit like a Hand computer. It has a range of 1 km or less.
| Vehicle Chemscanner | |
|---|---|
| Type | Sensory Aid |
| Tech Level | TL–9 |
| Cost | Cr200,000 |
| Size | 50 liter |
| Weight | 50 kg |
The Vehicle chemscanner is a larger unit with a much longer range, an integrated computer for analysis of signals, and display system for results of the scans. It generally has a much broader library of possible chemical signals it can interpret.
| Laboratory Chemscanner | |
|---|---|
| Type | Sensory Aid |
| Tech Level | TL–9 |
| Cost | Cr200,000 |
| Size | 50 liter |
| Weight | 50 kg |
The laboratory scanner is a fixed installation for a scanning device. It comes in one of two possible configurations. The first is a security portal, where people and goods pass through, scanned by the laser for potential security issues. This is used to detect surface contamination and volatiles that may be emitting chemicals.
The second is a lab scanner, where a sample to be analyzed is placed in a scanning chamber, and need a computer with a database that contains a list of the characteristics of known substances. Chemscanners are not generally useful for determining the composition of a substance not in their database. The samples are not harmed by the action of the Chemscanner.
- Terry Carlino. "Laboratory Equipment", Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society Online September 13, 2005