'Feds radiating Americans'? Mobile X-ray vans hit US streets

[jedi]

ARTICLE: 'Feds radiating Americans'? Mobile X-ray vans hit US streets - Yahoo! News--

Basically the feds and local LEO are begining to use mobile x-ray machines to scan vehicles for possible bombs on the highway. Seesm like we inch closer and closer to a police state.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Beginning?

Been out for a long time, although the technology is getting better.

I like how the hook is terrorism, but the photo shows drugs.

No money is fighting terrorism, lots of dough in fighting blow.

'Feds radiating Americans'? Mobile X-ray vans hit US streets - CSMonitor.com

 

[ATOMonkey]

I'm a little skeptical. It takes a metric ****-ton of energy to power a radiation source that will penetrate metal. If you use a natural radiation source, then you have to shield the hell out of it.

I don't think this kind of technology is actually available yet.

 

[vitamink]

it scans cars without you in them... like a check point. Once a car is determined to have whatever inside this scans the car without ripping it apart.

 

[ATOMonkey]

Beginning?

Been out for a long time, although the technology is getting better.

I like how the hook is terrorism, but the photo shows drugs.

No money is fighting terrorism, lots of dough in fighting blow.

'Feds radiating Americans'? Mobile X-ray vans hit US streets - CSMonitor.com

That doesn't look like an X-ray to me. It appears to be more of an ultra-sonic image.

 

[XMil]

I'm a little skeptical. It takes a metric ****-ton of energy to power a radiation source that will penetrate metal. If you use a natural radiation source, then you have to shield the hell out of it.

I don't think this kind of technology is actually available yet.

I think you better go check and see if your Unicorn is hungry.

 

[ATOMonkey]

I think you better go check and see if your Unicorn is hungry.

You need to look into how backscatter X-ray actually works. It specifically works off of reflected radiation, and as such, is terrible at penetration.

The image we're seeing doesn't make any sense if you're looking at it as a backscatter X-ray.

 

[XMil]

I'm just mouthing off, I don't know anything about backscatter x-rays. I don't suppose some reporters do either and probably reported incorrectly.

There are plenty of small, portable x-ray devices that can see through metal though. I've got some neat pictures of aircraft inspection using x-rays I can upload later.

 

[jedi]

Your ALL missing the point me thinks. I don't care if it's x-ray or backscatter x-ray or ultra-sonic or whatever technology it is. It's the fact that the feds and LEO are doing this and/or want to do this randomly WITHOUT any probable cause while you are driving.

So you are driving your happy butt on I-65 and out of the clear blue sky the police is scanning your car while you pass the exit for Indy or whatever for no reason other than you are the car they choose to target that second.

That is the concern I wanted to highlight.

 

[SemperFiUSMC]

I'm a little skeptical. It takes a metric ****-ton of energy to power a radiation source that will penetrate metal. If you use a natural radiation source, then you have to shield the hell out of it.

I don't think this kind of technology is actually available yet.

The vans have windmills on them capable of generating 1.2 megawatt of electricity. They're eco-friendly too.

They're working on perfecting a flux capacitor version that will raise the electricity output to 1.21 gigwatts of power. The technology has been around since the 1980s but a Doctor Emmitt Brown won't license his patents.

 

[XMil]

That point is not lost on me, things are so wildly out of hand, I can't think of words to describe it. It's my opinion, that if you introduced all the government's heavy handedness of the last 50 years, in 6 months, 90% of people would take to the streets immediately.

 

[ATOMonkey]

The vans have windmills on them capable of generating 1.2 megawatt of electricity. They're eco-friendly too.

They're working on perfecting a flux capacitor version that will raise the electricity output to 1.21 gigwatts of power. The technology has been around since the 1980s but a Doctor Emmitt Brown won't license his patents.

 

[ATOMonkey]

I agree with all the political aspects of why this is wrong. I'm just a techy geek by trade, so that's what I like to talk about.

 

[localone]

it wouldnt take long to have a little brat in the neighborhood rip that little thing off the top of the car..then ur screwed

 

[Kirk Freeman]

ATO, O.K., you sound like the guy to ask. What did I see after 9/11?

After 9/11 FBI was driving around Purdue in their Suburbans and white utility vans scanning dorms and apartment buildings. Heck, we even had F-18s and helicopters.

Was it thermal? Was it a geiger counter/radiation detection device?

I heard "x-ray" but was this just used broadly/generically?

 

[ATOMonkey]

ATO, O.K., you sound like the guy to ask. What did I see after 9/11?

After 9/11 FBI was driving around Purdue in their Suburbans and white utility vans scanning dorms and apartment buildings. Heck, we even had F-18s and helicopters.

Was it thermal? Was it a geiger counter/radiation detection device?

I heard "x-ray" but was this just used broadly/generically?

Stupid work computer... I lost my first reply.

It could have been thermal or IR, and they also could have been scanning for radiation.

I can guarantee they weren't using penetrating radiation though (X-ray, CT, etc) because it requires the use of a sensor on the back side of what you're scanning. Penetrating radiaiton through in-organic material also requires a LOT of energy. Our X-ray equipment that we use to scan steel is hooked up with big fat cables and I doubt they're running on 110V. I don't remember exactly how much energy it uses, but it's ridiculous. It's stationary and in a HEAVILY shielded room. Other X-ray equipment can use a natural radiation source, but they're always "on" and as such require LOTS of shielding or you burn your operators to death.

They could have been using ultra-sonic scanning as it doesn't require as much energy and the sensor is located at the source. I'm not as familiar with the physical limitation for ultra-sonic though.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Well, the SUVs and vans would work in pairs, but maybe an SUV (the battle wagons and their s-load of guns and ammo) was assigned as security for the vans?

They would drive around Purdue and then come downtown and park in front of my old office. I had the paralegal deliver coffee a couple of times.

 

[ATOMonkey]

Could have been. They also could have been intercepting wireless signals with the vans.

 

[Blackhawk2001]

My guess, for what it's worth, is that the story is mis-direction, and the devices are radiation-detectors and bomb-sniffers, those being the two big threats at big sporting events.

 

[ATOMonkey]

Also on 9/11 everyone was looking for SOMETHING to do. No one likes being a professional operator and just sitting around when something like that happens. So, driving around in trucks whether it was useful or not may have been more theraputic than anything.