APS March Meeting 2011
Volume 56, Number 1
Monday–Friday, March 21–25, 2011;
Dallas, Texas
Abstract: Q5.00003 : Minimizing the bioterrorist threat: Fear, fancy, folly, and physics
12:27 PM–1:03 PM
Preview Abstract
Author:
There can be little doubt that a bioterrorist attack represents
one of the
most significant dangers facing the Nation today. It is cheap,
relatively
easy to use, and can produce huge casualties and significant
financial
losses. Because of its apparent simplicity, there has been a
great amount of
attention directed towards developing means for early detection
of an attack
in progress. Most developmental funding for protective strategies
comes from
the Federal government: DoD is focused on protecting the military
(personnel
and facilities) whereas DoHS is most concerned with civilian
response
(police, triage, epidemiology, cure). Associated with such
activities are
some pretty amazing ideas both concerning the threat and means to
detect its
presence. These include the belief that certain bioterrorist
attacks could
equal the consequences of a nuclear weapon, that crop dusters
with the
proper agents could wipe out a city, that if it ``glows'' (i. e. is
fluorescent) it must be an agent, or even that gravitational
forces are
actually far greater than believed. From the early warning side
of things,
the huge costs associated with a false positive call have
resulted in the
generally recognized need to identify before any alarm is
triggered. Some
consequences of this strategy have been the development of
so-called smart
chips and even handheld mass spectrometers! A brief review of
some of these
devices and the physics required for their success is discussed.
An approach
based upon some simple features of inverse scattering theory is
proposed
whereby identification may be unnecessary.
To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2011.MAR.Q5.3