Sensing danger

Scientists have developed a new breed of sensors that can survive incredible levels of pressure and heat and that are helping researchers work out how to make buildings that could survive massive explosions.

Professor Julian Jones, of Heriot-Watt University, will reveal the next generation of sensing devices at the Institute of Physics conference Physics 2005 in Warwick.

The three new types of sensor use specially-engineered optical fibres which respond to changes in their environment. They can monitor blast-waves from high explosives, structural safety in tunnels, bridges and buildings, bending in critical aircraft components, and deterioration in weapons stockpiles.

Most modern sensors are electronic and work on the principle that temperature, pressure or stress affects the electrical behaviour of the sensor. Usually, a computer measures these changes to produce a digital readout. But electronic sensors can be impractical, unreliable and even dangerous when used in the wrong conditions.