Electromagnetism in Airport Security

Airport security contains many forms of electromagnetism throughout the many different security systems. The Airport's tight security process is used to prevent harmful objects from going past a certain point, ensuring a level of security to those around, and to stop a potentially dangerous event from happening. These security devices utilize electromagnetism to ensure the safety of those traveling, prevent something truly dangerous from occurring.


In the Airport, there are many uses of electromagnetism through different security scanners. But the two most used systems are metal detectors and X-ray scanners.

Metal Detectors: are the most-used form of airport security. These devices use an electromagnetic field to detect potential harmful objects. They consist of an AC current generator and a coil. The alternating current produces a magnetic field in the coil. After the back and forth between electric and magnetic fields, an alarm is triggered and the metal object is detected. With the X-ray imagery scanner, it uses a small number of X-rays to make a 2D image if the body. These X-rays bounce off of the body to create data. This information is then enhanced to display the person and any possibly concealed objects. 

X-ray Scanners: also known as luggage scanners, X-rays pass through the bag inside, energy is absorbed differently by each thing inside the bag. These waves create a plate-like detector, blocking low-energy waves, allowing high-energy waves to hit the second plate. These two detectors are what allow TSA workers ability to examen what is inside each bag. Measuring the intensity after these waves hit the object, to determine its harmful capabilities.