---
title: "Laser Detects Toxic Gases From Afar"
description: "The new technology can discriminate one type of gas from another with greater specificity than most remote sensors - even in complex mixtures of similar chemicals—and under normal atmospheric pressure."
date: "2014-12-04"
modified: "2014-12-04"
authors:
  - name: "Matthew Lincoln"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/justmatt"
url: "https://futurism.com/laser-detects-toxic-gases-afar"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
---

# Laser Detects Toxic Gases From Afar

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/lasersniffso.jpg>)

- The researchers say the technique could be used to test for radioactive byproducts from nuclear accidents or arms control treaty violations
- The technique uses a form of invisible light called terahertz radiation, or T-rays
- Zapping a gas molecule with a terahertz beam of just the right energy makes the molecule switch between alternate rotational states, producing a characteristic absorption spectrum "fingerprint," like the lines of a bar code.