Wouldn’t it be nice if we could scan anything and detect everything? Especially when thinking about the nuclear sector…

It’s always been a major challenge for the nuclear industry to know exactly what is waiting behind a door, inside a container or to know how structurally sound that very thick wall could be.

Most times a solution does come up to improve the understanding, reduce costs or mitigate risks. That said, there is no universal answer.

When it comes to decommissioning for instance, with sometimes only a handful of data handed down from the previous generation of engineers, you could feel that imaging part of your challenge will not hurt. Certainly, a way forward to consider.

Unfortunately, to see through thick concrete walls or thick steel plates requires something special.

X-rays can see through things, isn’t it?

Yes! Tick in the box. Thumbs up. This one’s sorted. Let’s all go home and relax… Now, you know this is not it; otherwise, everybody would be doing it (and this article will be finished).

Big downside of X-Rays, although very quick to go through materials, is that it does not penetrate very deep and will struggle seeing anything on material thicker than 10cm. It also requires shielding (something to do with the harmful ionising radiation), frequent maintenance, a trained eye to interpret the image…

The next contenders are cosmic rays.

Harmless, with no ionising radiation, the ability to go through 2 meters of steel or liquid, muon tomography should be all the hype.

I can hear some of you at the back saying it takes too long to get the data. Think again. We came across the next gen of muon imaging, combining cosmic rays with AI.