Anyone who has ever used the services of commercial airlines knows that very strict security measures are applied at airports. There is a clear list of items that a passenger can take with him on board, and a list of those that he must pack in his baggage. Today, the practice of using X-rays to check baggage at the airport is widespread. In addition, it should be noted that in some cases it may be necessary to scan using the x-ray of the passenger himself.
Scientists argue that the X-ray machine can not cause damage, and yet passengers are interested to know how it works. This amazing mechanism allows you to look inside the human body, but few people understand what scientific research is hidden behind this technology.
How it works?
So how does an x-ray work at the airport? While a passenger passes through a metal detector, his baggage passes through an x-ray. A conveyor pulls each item through a special mechanism. X-rays are similar to electromagnetic waves, but differ in that they have great energy and therefore can penetrate many materials.
The devices used at airports are usually based on a dual radiographic system. It has one x-ray source, which typically has a range of 140-160 KVP (maximum kilovolts). The range of rays penetration directly depends on the KVP indicator. The higher the KVP, the better the device works. Before the rays reach baggage, they go through three levels of adjustment: the first determinant, the filter and the second determinant. This is necessary so that the computer can more accurately identify low-energy objects, which are most organic materials. In the photo above you can see what the x-ray looks like at the airport.
Features of the identification of various materials
Since all matter absorbs X-rays with different strengths, the image displayed on the screen gives the operator the opportunity to see various things inside the baggage. Typically, a computer visually separates different materials using colors. Depending on the range of energy passing through the object, things inside luggage are divided into three categories.
While the colors used to denote inorganic materials and metals vary by manufacturer, almost all manufacturers designate organic materials with orange. This is because they are the most explosive.
Specially trained professionals who are trained to search for suspicious items are hired as operators. And this is not only about obviously dangerous things like pistols or knives, but also about anything else that could be used to make improvised explosives (UHV). Terrorists and hijackers often use ATS in order to gain control of the aircraft. UHV can be produced through a huge number of different methods, starting with the most common tube bomb and ending with an abstruse electronic device that can be controlled over a long distance.
Misconceptions about the potential impact of X-rays on things in baggage
A common misconception is that the x-rays used in airport checks can damage the film for the camera (s) or electronic storage media. All modern X-ray systems scan electronic media and film without any harm to the latter, since the level of emitted radiation is too low to cause any harm to the film. Storage media in this respect have a much higher threshold of sensitivity than film.
The dangers that even an x-ray of baggage at the airport will not save
Laptops, tablets, telephones and other similar devices consist of too many small parts, and therefore, in many cases, using only X-ray data, it is simply impossible to understand what is inside them. Attackers often use this to bring prohibited substances on board, so airport workers can ask the device owner to turn it on to make sure that there are parts inside that would not work, and not something forbidden.
How to prepare for an X-ray scanner at the airport
When the time comes to travel, you should not worry at the airport that other people will see your body at full height and all the insides, airport employees see this, maybe several thousand times a day, and no one is specifically interested in your pictures . A little time will pass and you will forget about this episode, in addition, the police will do everything so that nothing bothers you. You can wear any kind of clothes. But you need to be warned if you have any medical devices implanted in the body, such as a pacemaker.
Is X-ray scanning a body safe?
Just like a metal detector, the main goal of an X-ray is to show everything that is suspicious. If the passenger has a bracelet on his hands, it will be shown on the screen in the same way as internal organs, but it will be highlighted in a different color. The same thing happens if a strange object is hidden not inside the body, but somewhere under the clothes. These machines emit incredibly scanty doses of radiation to instantly capture images of the viscera of the person being examined.
Just like the usual x-ray machines that are used in hospitals, x-rays at the airport, according to the assurances of doctors and scientists, are absolutely harmless. It is possible that they can really harm human health, but only if you stand in the place of exposure to x-rays for several hours, but if it is literally a few milliseconds, the x-ray machine is not physically capable of harming human health.
Where else are x-ray machines used at the airport
First of all, X-ray machines of this type are used at airports and at borders to help border guards in the suppression of smuggling. But the same apparatus would be pointless in hospitals, for doctors are primarily interested in the health of specific organs, and not in the presence of hidden overseas things.
X-ray machines at the airport are not so accurate that they can be used in medical institutions. This is something like the reverse version of conventional x-rays.
While simple devices show a detailed image of bones and internal organs, x-rays at the airport are used to obtain not detailed, but general blurry images. But at the same time, they are accurate enough to be used in prisons. Often relatives and friends visiting prisoners try to convey something forbidden. Like at the airport, X-rays emitted from special equipment and installed in separate rooms should reveal illegal objects, which greatly helps to reduce the transfer of things that are prohibited in places of deprivation of liberty to prisoners.