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The LiquidO radiation device built by Prof Hartnell and members of the Experimental Particle Physics research group at Â鶹ӳ»­.

A new detector built by Prof and members of the Experimental Particle Physics Research Group at Â鶹ӳ»­ could make radiation monitoring cheaper and far more precise. Early use of the detector is planned to monitor a commercial nuclear reactor in France through the .

The team’s LiquidO device, developed over six years, tracks cosmic-ray particles (high-energy particles from space) to better than half a millimetre, making it the most precise detector of its type so far, as reported in the . 

This level of detail helps scientists to pinpoint exactly where radiation interacts, trace a particle’s path, and distinguish between different particles based on their behaviour in the detector.

LiquidO is a new kind of radiation detector that works like a camera for subatomic particles (the tiny building blocks of atoms). It uses an opaque scintillator – a material that produces a flash of light when radiation passes through it. Because the material is deliberately cloudy, the light stays close to where it was produced, while a grid of thin optical fibres collects it to map the particle’s path.

Research Fellow Dr  said: “LiquidO could deliver detectors that are 5–10 times more precise for a similar cost – opening up wider uses in radiation monitoring and nuclear safeguards, with longer-term possibilities in medical imaging.”