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 Metal detector

Army soldiers uses a metal detector to search for weapons and ammunition in March 2004.

A metal detector is an electronic instrument which detects the presence of metal nearby. Metal

detectors are useful for finding metal inclusions hidden within objects, or metal objects buried
underground. They often consist of a handheld unit with a sensor probe which can be swept over the
ground or other objects. If the sensor comes near a piece of metal this is indicated by a changing
tone in earphones, or a needle moving on an indicator. Usually the device gives some indication of
distance; the closer the metal is, the higher the tone in the earphone or the higher the needle goes.
Another common type are stationary "walk through" metal detectors used for security screening at
access points in prisons, courthouses, and airports to detect concealed metal weapons on a
person's body.
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 a magnetic
field of its own. If another coil is used to measure the magnetic 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
mineral prospecting and other industrial applications. Uses include detecting 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 the construction industry to detect steel reinforcing bars in
concrete and pipes and wires buried in walls and floors.

Contents

 1 History and development

o 1.1Modern developments
o 1.2Further refinements
o 1.3Discriminators
o 1.4New coil designs
o 1.5Pulse induction
 2 Uses
o 2.1Archaeology
o 2.2As a hobby
o 2.3Security screening
o 2.4Industrial metal detectors
o 2.5Civil engineering
History and development

Early metal detector, 1919, used to find unexploded bombs in France after World War 1.

Towards the end of the 19th century, many scientists and engineers used their growing knowledge
of electrical theory in an attempt to devise a machine which would pinpoint metal. The use of such a
device to find ore-bearing rocks would give a huge advantage to any miner who employed it. Early
machines were crude, used a lot of battery power, and worked only to a very limited degree. In 1874,
Parisian inventor Gustave Trouvé developed a hand-held device for locating and extracting metal
objects such as bullets from human patients. Inspired by Trouvé, Alexander Graham Bell developed
a similar device to attempt to locate a bullet lodged in the chest of American President James
Garfield in 1881; the metal detector worked correctly but the attempt was unsuccessful because the
metal coil spring bed Garfield was lying on confused the detector.
Modern developments
The modern development of the metal detector began in the 1920s. Gerhard Fischer had developed
a system of radio direction-finding, which was to be used for accurate navigation. The system
worked extremely well, but Fischer noticed there were anomalies in areas where the terrain
contained ore-bearing rocks. He reasoned that if a radio beam could be distorted by metal, then it
should be possible to design a machine which would detect metal using a search coil resonating at a
radio frequency. In 1925 he applied for, and was granted, the first patent for a metal detector.
Although Gerhard Fischer was the first person granted a patent for a metal detector, the first to apply
was Shirl Herr, a businessman from Crawfordsville, Indiana. His application for a hand-held Hidden-
Metal Detector was filed in February 1924, but not patented until July 1928. Herr assisted Italian
leader Benito Mussolini in recovering items remaining from the Emperor Caligula's galleys at the
bottom of Lake Nemi, Italy in August 1929. Herr's invention was used by Admiral Richard Byrd's
Second Antarctic Expedition in 1933, when it was used to locate objects left behind by earlier
explorers. It was effective up to a depth of eight feet. However, it was one Lieutenant Józef
Stanisław Kosacki, a Polish officer attached to a unit stationed in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, during
the early years of World War II, who refined the design into a practical Polish mine detector. These
units were still quite heavy, as they ran on vacuum tubes, and needed separate battery packs.
The design invented by Kosacki was used extensively during the Second Battle of El Alamein when
500 units were shipped to Field Marshal Montgomery to clear the minefields of the retreating
Germans, and later used during the Allied invasion of Sicily, the Allied invasion of Italy and
the Invasion of Normandy.
As the creation and refinement of the device was a wartime military research operation, the
knowledge that Kosacki created the first practical metal detector was kept secret for over 50 years.
The Mine Kafon Drone is a drone for autonomous, efficient and safe demining which has a metal
detector attached that is hovered close above the ground using its sensors and a retractable arm.
Further refinements
Many manufacturers of these new devices brought their own ideas to the market. White's Electronics
of Oregon began in the 1950s by building a machine called the Oremaster Geiger Counter. Another
leader in detector technology was Charles Garrett, who pioneered the BFO (Beat Frequency
Oscillator) machine. With the invention and development of the transistor in the 1950s and 1960s,
metal detector manufacturers and designers made smaller lighter machines with improved circuitry,
running on small battery packs. Companies sprang up all over the United States and Britain to
supply the growing demand.
Modern top models are fully computerized, using integrated circuit technology to allow the user to
set sensitivity, discrimination, track speed, threshold volume, notch filters, etc., and hold these
parameters in memory for future use. Compared to just a decade ago, detectors are lighter, deeper-
seeking, use less battery power, and discriminate better.
Larger portable metal detectors are used by archaeologists and treasure hunters to locate metallic
items, such as jewelry, coins, bullets, and other various artifacts buried shallowly underground.
Discriminators
The biggest technical change in detectors was the development of the induction-balance system.
This system involved two coils that were electrically balanced. When metal was introduced to their
vicinity, they would become unbalanced. What allowed detectors to discriminate between metals
was the fact that every metal has a different phase response when exposed to alternating current.
Scientists had long known of this fact; in time detectors were developed that could selectively detect
desirable metals, while ignoring undesirable ones.
Even with discriminators, it was still a challenge to avoid undesirable metals; because some of them
have similar phase responses e.g. tinfoil and gold, particularly in alloy form. Thus, improperly tuning
out certain metals increased the risk of passing over a valuable find. Another disadvantage of
discriminators was that they reduced the sensitivity of the machines.
New coil designs
Coil designers also tried out innovative designs. The original induction balance coil system consisted
of two identical coils placed on top of one another. Compass Electronics produced a new design:
two coils in a D shape, mounted back-to-back to form a circle. This system was widely used in the
1970s, and both concentric and D type (or wide scan as they became known) had their fans.
Another development was the invention of detectors which could cancel out the effect of
mineralization in the ground. This gave greater depth, but was a non-discriminate mode. It worked
best at lower frequencies than those used before, and frequencies of 3 to 20 KHz were found to
produce the best results. Many detectors in the 1970s had a switch which enabled the user to switch
between the discriminate mode and the non-discriminate mode. Later developments switched
electronically between both modes. The development of the induction balance detector would
ultimately result in the motion detector, which constantly checked and balanced the background
mineralization.
The size of the coil can limit or optimize the size of the target detected. A very small coil can
generally pickup smaller targets better than a larger coil. Conversely, a larger coil can usually detect
larger objects from farther away and sometimes sacrifices being able to detect smaller objects (even
up close). There are trade-offs for what the "detectorist" is trying to find. Usually a detector user
needs to decide which size coil will be used. On some high-performance detectors, sometimes the
coil size is fixed (the coil cannot be changed) to optimize the circuitry for detecting smaller objects
while still giving good depth on larger objects. Some higher performance metal detectors allow the
user to change the coil size, to optimize what the user is searching for; a good example is very tiny
gold pieces, usually requiring a smaller coil. Recent coil advancements have had a smaller coil
inside a larger coil, and the circuitry is creating special timings between the two coils to optimize
smaller and larger object detection simultaneously. Generally when using a metal detector the user
should select the coil size based on "ground coverage" desired, "sensitivity" to smaller objects,
distance that large objects can be detected, and the amount of "ground noise" that the coil will
pickup or be able to "cancel". Smaller coils are sometimes used to focus the detecting search area
to be smaller, thereby avoiding "trash" that may be present in a location.
Pulse induction
At the same time, developers were looking at using a different technique in metal detection called
pulse induction. Unlike the beat frequency oscillator or the induction balance machines which both
used a uniform alternating current at a low frequency, the pulse induction machine simply
magnetized the ground with a relatively powerful, momentary current through a search coil. In the
absence of metal, the field decayed at a uniform rate, and the time it took to fall to zero volts could
be accurately measured. However, if metal was present when the machine fired, a small eddy
current would be induced in the metal, and the time for sensed current decay would be increased.
These time differences were minute, but the improvement in electronics made it possible to measure
them accurately and identify the presence of metal at a reasonable distance. These new machines
had one major advantage: they were mostly impervious to the effects of mineralization, and rings
and other jewelry could now be located even under highly mineralized black sand. The addition of
computer control and digital signal processing have further improved pulse induction sensors.
The advantages for using a "PI detector" include the ability to "punch through" heavy mineral soil; in
some cases the heavy mineral content may even help the PI detector function better. Where a "VLF"
detector is usually greatly affected negatively, a "PI" is not.

Uses
Archaeology
Metal detectors are widely used in archaeology with the first recorded use by military historian Don
Rickey in 1958, who used one to detect the firing lines at Little Big Horn. However archaeologists
oppose the use of metal detectors by "artifact seekers" or "site looters" whose activities disrupt
archaeological sites. The problem with use of metal detectors in archaeological sites or hobbyist who
find objects of archeological interest is that the context that the object was found in is lost and no
detailed survey of its surroundings is made. Outside of known sites the significance of objects may
not be apparent to a metal detector hobbyist.
As a hobby

This 156-troy-ounce (4.9 kg) gold nugget, known as the Mojave Nugget, was found by an individual prospector
in the Southern California Desert using a metal detector.
There are various types of hobby activities involving metal detectors:

 Coin shooting is specifically targeting coins. Some coin shooters conduct historical research
to locate sites with potential to give up historical and collectible coins.
 Prospecting is looking for valuable metals like gold, silver, and copper in their natural forms,
such as nuggets or flakes.
 Metal detectors are also used to search for discarded or lost, valuable man-made objects
such as jewelry, mobile phones, cameras and other devices. Some metal detectors are
waterproof, to allow the user to search for submerged objects in areas of shallow water.
 General metal detecting is very similar to coin shooting except that the user is after any type
of historical artifact. Detectorists may be dedicated to preserving historical artifacts, and often
have considerable expertise. Coins, bullets, buttons, axe heads, and buckles are just a few of
the items that are commonly found by relic hunters; in general the potential is far greater in
Europe and Asia than in many other parts of the world. More valuable finds in Britain alone
include the Staffordshire Hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold, sold for £3,285,000, the gold
Celtic Newark Torc, the Ringlemere Cup, West Bagborough Hoard, Milton Keynes Hoard,
Roman Crosby Garrett Helmet, Stirling Hoard, Collette Hoard and thousands of smaller finds.
 Beach combing is hunting for lost coins or jewelry on a beach. Beach hunting can be as
simple or as complicated as one wishes to make it. Many dedicated beach hunters also
familiarize themselves with tide movements and beach erosion.
 Metal detecting clubs across the United States, United Kingdom and Canada exist for
hobbyists to learn from others, show off finds from their hunts and to learn more about the
hobby.
Security screening

Metal detectors at Berlin Schönefeld Airport

A series of aircraft hijackings led the United States in 1972 to adopt metal detector technology to
screen airline passengers, initially using magnetometers that were originally designed for logging
operations to detect spikes in trees. The Finnish company Outokumpu adapted mining metal
detectors in the 1970s, still housed in a large cylindrical pipe, to make a commercial walk-through
security detector. The development of these systems continued in a spin-off company and systems
branded as Metor Metal Detectors evolved in the form of the rectangular gantry now standard in
airports. In common with the developments in other uses of metal detectors both alternating current
and pulse systems are used, and the design of the coils and the electronics has moved forward to
improve the discrimination of these systems. In 1995 systems such as the Metor 200 appeared with
the ability to indicate the approximate height of the metal object above the ground, enabling security
personnel to more rapidly locate the source of the signal. Smaller hand held metal detectors are also
used to locate a metal object on a person more precisely.
Industrial metal detectors
Industrial metal detectors are used in the pharmaceutical, food, beverage, textile, garment, plastics,
chemicals, lumber, mining, and packaging industries.
Contamination of food by metal shards from broken processing machinery during the manufacturing
process is a major safety issue in the food industry. Metal detectors for this purpose are widely used
and integrated into the production line.
Current practice at garment or apparel industry plants is to apply metal detecting after the garments
are completely sewn and before garments are packed to check whether there is any metal
contamination (needle, broken needle, etc.) in the garments. This needs to be done for safety
reasons.
The industrial metal detector was developed by Bruce Kerr and David Hiscock in 1947. The founding
company Goring Kerr pioneered the use and development of the first industrial metal detector. Mars
Incorporated was one of the first customers of Goring Kerr using their Metlokate metal detector to
inspect Mars bars.
The basic principle of operation for the common industrial metal detector is based on a 3 coil design.
This design utilizes an AM (amplitude modulated) transmitting coil and two receiving coils one on
either side of the transmitter. The design and physical configuration of the receiving coils are
instrumental in the ability to detect very small metal contaminates of 1 mm or smaller. Today modern
metal detectors continue to utilize this configuration for the detection of tramp metal.
The coil configuration is such that it creates an opening whereby the product (food, plastics,
pharmaceuticals, etc.) passes through the coils. This opening or aperture allows the product to enter
and exit through the three coil system producing an equal but mirrored signal on the two receiving
coils. The resulting signals are summed together effectively nullifying each other. Fortress
Technology innovated a new feature, that allows the coil structure of their BSH Model to ignore the
effects of vibration, even when inspecting conductive products.
When a metal contaminant is introduced into the product an unequal disturbance is created. This
then creates a very small electronic signal. After suitable amplification a mechanical device mounted
to the conveyor system is signaled to remove the contaminated product from the production line.
This process is completely automated and allows manufacturing to operate uninterrupted.
Civil engineering
In civil engineering, special metal detectors (cover meters) are used to locate reinforcement
bars inside walls.