Discuss “How Things Work”

Walking through an airport metal detector 10 years from now will be a different experience than it is today.

Most walk-through metal detectors today use pulse induction to pick up on metal objects located on or hidden underneath clothing.

Pulse induction is the process of sending out an electrical impulse in a wire coil. This electrical impulse creates a magnetic field, which disappears once the pulse ends. Another electric pulse (called the reflected pulse) is then sent through the wire.

This process is repeated hundreds of times per second.

In the presence of metal objects, the first electrical impulse creates a magnetic field around the object. Once the initial impulse disappears, however, the object’s magnetic field causes the reflected...