Explosives Detection Using Neutrons

The physical properties of neutrons made it possible that immediately after their discovery, in the year 1932, technologies by activation and detection of gamma-emission began to be developed and applied as a useful process for identifying and characterizing materials as early as the 1940s. However, it has been from the last twenty years when neutrons have become a powerful tool for non-invasive studies in various branches of science and engineering, such as physics, geotechnical exploration, biology, medicine, materials engineering, and interest in applying these technologies in border, port and airport security equipment has increased, complementing existing systems based on radiographic images that use X-rays and gamma radiation.