Article Excerpt: Dartmouth researcher Joseph BelBruno and colleagues have pioneered the development of a breakthrough device that can immediately detect the presence of secondhand smoke and even thirdhand (nicotine residue on clothing, furniture, etc.) smoke. The small, lightweight device uses polymer films to collect and measure nicotine in the air, and a sensor chip then records the data on an SD memory card. While many parents try not to smoke around their children, going to a different room or smoking out on the porch may not be going far enough. For the first time, a prototype sensor will let parents see whether or not their precautions make a difference. In addition to its uses in safeguarding childhood health, there are commercial applications for these unique detectors. Installed in rental cars, hotel rooms, and restaurants, this device could help enforce owner and operator smoking bans through an alert system, much like ceiling-mounted smoke detectors. BelBruno says David Kotz, the Champion International Professor of Computer Science, was the catalyst for the secondhand smoke project.
Full Article: http://tinyurl.com/c3bf9gl
Article Source: Dartmouth Now