FRIDAY, January 21, 2011 Science at the Edge Seminar, 11:30 a.m., Room 1400 BPS Bldg. Speaker: David K. Lambert Title: New technology to stop drunk drivers from driving New technology to stop drunk drivers from driving David K. Lambert Recent advances make it practical to check every driver's blood alcohol concentration. An infrared measurement system with sufficient speed and accuracy is described. It uses a puff of the driver's exhaled breath. The system draws in ambient air, and compares the time-varying concentrations of ethanol vapor and exhaled breath to determine the driver's blood alcohol concentration. The calculated accuracy, in 1 s, is 400 times smaller than the legal intoxication limit in the U.S. The system appears practical. Should technology be used to eliminate drunk driving? Shawna Prater / Secretary Astrophysics Group Michigan State University 3261 Biomedical Physical Sciences Bldg East Lansing, MI 48824-2320 Ph: (517) 884-5601 Fax (517) 432-8802 [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>