The Terahertz Train is fixing to leave the station, or why I'm feeling like a kid in a candy store

Image via Wikipedia

Those of you that know me, know that I (like many of you) have spent a lot of time, energy, and endured some real pain, watching Terahertz emerge as a commercially viable opportunity. My first investment in Advanced Photonix spans a decade, (long before Advanced Photonix (API), had any connection to terahertz).
The first time, I ever heard of terahertz, was in February of 2005, when Popular Science, published a 3/4 of a page story in their headlines section, under the heading "emerging technology". The short article, was titled, "T-rays hard to handle? Not anymore". The article mentioned the work of Daniel Mittleman, at Rice University, and also noted that:
"The US Department of Homeland Security, just inked a deal with the U.K.'s Teraview to develop a t-ray wand for airport use."
The article extolled coming applications in Security, Medicine, Communication, and Astronomy.
I was hooked. I knew then, that this was a virgin technology that was going to change the world, and would be found in use in virtually every aspect of our lifes over the coming years. That was February of 2005. I searched for publically traded companies that were working on Thz development, and of course, looked at Teraview's webpage only to discover, there were no such publically traded companies. However, what exciting news was in store for me, just a month later, in March of 2005.

The connection to terahertz for API, of course, came in March, 2005 with the acquisition of Michigan based Picometrix, which was a spin-off from the University of Michigan, which in turn, had been part of, and had acquired the seminal Lucent Technology, groundbreaking patents. I couldn't believe my good-fortune, in already having a sizeable investment in the legacy photonix enterprise of API, which was now acquiring the real source that had harnessed Thz to begin with. My initial due diligence (as well as that of my friends) revealed multiple patents and proprietary information in regard to terahertz applications were now in the hands of API.
The promise of terahertz, was for safe, non-ionizing scanning, coupled with a spectroscopic inspection of the item or person scanned, which seemed so huge, that many of us jumped on the bandwagon early, only to discover that emerging technologies have to first crawl, & then learn to walk, before they can run. Initial sales of the T-2000, to a series of major Universities and to several government agencies, seemed to indicate that commercial implementation was months if not mere days away. The development of the T-3000, and it's sale to NASA to scan the space shuttle tiles, also seemed to mean the die was cast, and that commerical application was imminent. That was 2005, and sadly, I was wrong, the world didn't know about the promise of terahertz, the costs were too great, and the products simply were not ready for commerical application.
BUT TODAY, I am more confident in predicting that we are finally on the "cusp" of a commercial "explosion" in the use of teraherz. I envision it's use in scanning mail, at sporting events, and of course, in all forms of public transportation, whether by air, rail, or sea. Recent gasline explosions in California, make it the ideal solution for inspection of line corrosion, without the need to dig up the line for inspection. (see story on this blog, 9/14/10). In the pharaceutical arena, inspection of tablets for both purity and uniformity are met by teraherz inspection. (see story on this blog, 5/26/10), (2/24/10). In fact, all facets and forms of quality control, will be significantly improved and enhanced by the use of terahertz, the sky is the limit on potential areas and uses. Recent articles on this blog also suggest that Thz, may be able to recognize protein signatures, (see blog, 8/23/10), and while I don't know the true scope of this use, I have previously imagined Thz's use in the safe testing of foods, and food products. While Thz has limitations because of moisture content, it seems some food products would still be likely candidates for inspection, somewhere down the line. The replacement of nuclear gauges by Thz, has longed been anticipated, and will be a reality before the end of this year. (see blog story 6/30/10, 5/5/09).
Medical applications especially in the area of skin cancer get nearer by the day. (see blog story 2/1/10).
The list of applications in military, and covert operations, including in homeland security are endless. Terhertz, will also play a huge, and perhaps leading role in next generation, communication. (see blog, 10/8/10). Welcome aboard! I've been wrong before, but I'm convinced it should be a long and fun ride from here!
Postscript: (Although Teraview, apparently never developed the hand-held wand for Homeland Security, as reported in 2005, it now appears Advanced Photonix, will do so, and at the expense of Homeland Security. What a huge win!)
(AS ALWAYS THE THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED ON THIS POST ARE MY PERSONAL OPINIONS, AND PLEASE DO YOUR OWN DUE DILIGENCE BEFORE INVESTING ANY MONEY).