Cosmic rays could help locate hidden nuclear material, researchers say. Their device could one day aid cross-border surveillance and help combat terrorism.
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Morris's detector looks for subatomic particles called muons as they pass through heavy objects.
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Matter deflects muons: the denser the material, the bigger the swerve. In the 1930s, scientists used cosmic rays to probe Egyptian pyramids for hidden gold.
Today's researchers are more worried about uranium and plutonium. About 20 pieces of radioactive material go missing each year from the former Soviet Union. There is concern that some could fall into the hands of terrorists.
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"This is entirely possible," says Arnold Wolfendale, former Astronomer Royal and physicist from Durham University, although, he adds, there are easier and cheaper ways to detect uranium, such as Geiger counters.
