Gamma-spectroscopy cell phones are the needed 'Distant Early Warning'

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist ^ | June 14th, 2026 | Dr. Andrew Longman, Prof. Ephraim Fischbach

[FarRockaway2]

In the Middle East, intelligence services furiously hunt for fissile material in Iran. In Japan, residents still worry about radiation exposure from Fukushima Daiichi. In other places, stolen or missing radioactive sources have made the news.

One solution: the cell phone.

[FarRockaway2]

Reagan had 'Star Wars' missile defense and was correct. This system would prevent terrorist smuggled bombs and map Fukishimas. Trump should do it.

[smokingfrog]

That would be rad, man!

[butlerweave]

but isn’t the cell phone turning people’s brains to Mush ?

[ClearCase_guy]

My cell phone:

[Merrick]

DARPA SIGMA.

[Merrick]

Tey more from the Bulletin of Confused Scientists.

[Nateman]

Another liberal trying to foist upon society thier solution to a potential problem. If Civilization ever manages to move some people off planet their idea will take care of itself: space is full of deadly radiation. The need to detect it will make their idea of installing radiation detectors on phones will simply become a practical necessity for those who live out there.

[omni-scientist]

Very interesting idea, if not abused for personal tracking. But if you have concerns about privacy, just put your phone in a faraday/mu-metal bag. It can still count gamma rays, but wouldn’t be reported in the network.

[marktwain]

It is an interesting idea. It might also act as a dosimiter. It could be very useful in radiation medicine research.

We might find a small amount of radiation improves health, for example.

It appears limited to gamma radiation.

[Carl Vehse]

There are already several (<$400) handheld gamma ray spectrometers that link to a smart phone.

[Myrddin]

The device exists. I did integration testing with a device containing alpha, beta, gamma and neutron sensors along with GPS. It's WiFi connected. No cell radio. Still too expensive for consumer devices. I wanted to install it in a drone to fly patterns over an area to map hazards. It might still happen.

[Sequoyah101]

The ensuing panic ensuing from this kind of knowledge would create mayhem.

[PUGACHEV]

It is unlikely that Apple, for one, would go to the trouble and expense of incorporating a radiation detector into their cell phones. The space in that little package is too valuable for such an esoteric purpose. A dongle, however, which one could buy separately, would be the perfect solution. I would buy one just for the fun of checking the background radiation in the different places I go.

[GingisK]

But dragging that damn dewar of liquid nitrogen around to keep the sensor operating is a real chore.

[GingisK]

It you leave it on it will deplete its battery by upping its power to find a tower. Just turn the phone off.

[GingisK]

Why link to a smart phone? It looks like it can stand on its own.

[GingisK]

Yep, far better to be cooked by not knowing.

[fella]

I have a RadiaCode 103 . An amazing device that can even tell what isotope your being exposed to.

[Carl Vehse]

The app, available to download onto the phone, does the detailed radioisotope identification based on the gamma ray peaks it gets from the handheld gamma spectrometer. The spectrometer can also show the gamma radiation dose rate.

[Brian Griffin]

https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/iran-plants-mines-collapses-tunnels-to-shield-near-weapons-grade-uranium-report/ar-AA25yYpD