A metal detector is a device which responds to metal that may not be readily apparent.

The simplest form of a metal detector consists of an oscillator producing an alternating current that passes through a coil producing an alternating magnetic field. If a piece of electrically conductive metal is close to the coil, eddy currents will be induced in the metal, and this produces an alternating electric field of its own. If another coil is used to measure the electric field (acting as a magnetometer), the change in the magnetic field due to the metallic object can be detected. The first industrial metal detectors were developed in the 1960s and were used extensively for mining and other industrial applications. Uses include de-mining (the detection of land mines), the detection of weapons such as knives and guns (especially in airport security),geophysical prospecting, archaeology and treasure hunting. Metal detectors are also used to detect foreign bodies in food, and in theconstruction industry to detect steel reinforcing bars in concrete and pipes and wires buried in walls and floors.

The Uses & Application of a Metal Detector

Treasure Hunting

Different types of treasure hunting that use metal detector technology include "coin shooting" or coin hunting, prospecting for gold and/or silver, historical artifact hunting, and beach combing for valuables lost on the beach. Serious coin and relic hunters will do an enormous amount of research beforehand to determine where specific, potentially valuable sites are located. The depth to which a metal detector can pinpoint a buried metal object depends largely on the strength (and expense) of the model. The typical amateur treasurehunting metal detector can only detect metal objects one or two feet below the surface.

Airport and Building Security

Metal detectors are used for airport and building security to determine whether guns, knives, or other weapons are being transported onto aircraft or into public buildings. The technology and efficiency of a security metal detector is much more advanced than that of an amateur treasure-hunting detector. There are two types of security metal detectors: the walk-through detector, and the wand detector. A walk-through metal detector consists of a metal-detecting arch or "gate" through which an individual passes to be screened. If an alarm sounds, an operator stops the individual from walking past the checkpoint, and proceeds to investigate the cause and the source of the alarm. A wand detector is slightly more laborious to use, but it is a much less expensive alternative to a walk-through detector. Security personnel pass the wand slowly over all sides of the

body of the individual being screened, with an alarm within the wand sounding when metal is detected.

Land Mine Detection

The military has used metal detection to pinpoint buried land mines since World War I. Of the two types of landmines used in warfare, antipersonnel and antitank, antipersonnel mines are harder for metal detectors to locate because they are often made of plastic. Both types of mines are typically buried close to the surface, making detection of metal-based mines relatively easy, though intensely nerve-wracking, as the slightest contact with a mine will easily detonate it.

Construction Industry

Metal detectors are also used in the construction industry to locate steel reinforcement bars embedded in concrete, and to pinpoint metal pipes and wires in floors and walls. This is useful in avoiding unnecessary damage when replacing plumbing or wiring in a building or house. Some models of metal detector used for construction industry purposes bear a resemblance to the wand detector used for security purposes, while others more closely resemble those used for treasure hunting.