{"id":1645,"date":"2011-10-04T21:45:40","date_gmt":"2011-10-05T02:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/?p=1645"},"modified":"2011-10-07T02:22:00","modified_gmt":"2011-10-07T07:22:00","slug":"airport-scanners-nude","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/04\/airport-scanners-nude\/","title":{"rendered":"Airport Scanners – Nude and Radioactive Photographs?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Sao Paulo, Brazil Airport Scanner Image - Jan Smith 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Airport Scanners – Nude and Radioactive Photographs?<\/h1>\n
As a photographer and somebody working in radiated environments (Chernobyl), the issue of airport scanners intrigues me. \u00a0Are they safe? \u00a0Can you really see somebody naked? \u00a0Is the person in the back room secretly checking us out, or laughing at us?<\/p>\n
Airport Scanners – Nude Men and Women<\/h2>\n
This week I managed to sneak a picture from the screens of the airport scanner in the Sao Paulo, Brazil–similar to many models in the USA. \u00a0After reading various articles in the media, and seeing online examples of scans, \u00a0I was expecting to, at the very least, see somebody nude. \u00a0Depending on who is in front of me in the airport security line, this could be either a very interesting, or a very scary picture. \u00a0 I am posting precisely what I saw of the woman in front of me \u00a0at the end of this blog so you can see what the airport security people really see.<\/span><\/a><\/span> \u00a0You can then decide for yourself it they see more of you than you want to show.<\/p>\n
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Reputed Airport Scanner Image Showing a Naked Woman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The first reputed image from a scanner that I saw online was that of a shapely blonde. \u00a0It provides enough detail so that the imagination can easily fill in the details of her body. \u00a0If those pictures are real, then the guys and gals in the screening room could be forgiven for staring at their screens a little longer. \u00a0The second image I analyzed was one provided by the TSA (Transportation and Security Administration).<\/p>\n
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Image of a TSA Volunteer in an Airport Scanner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Airport Scanners – X-Ray Hoaxes<\/h2>\n
Some internet sites even claim that if you invert the images from positive to negative in Photoshop or CS (press Ctrl+ I) you get an accurate picture of what the person looks like in real life. \u00a0I tested this on my computer. \u00a0First I took screen shots of the images (above) and then inverted them in CS5. \u00a0The result I got was indeed very life like.<\/p>\n
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Inverted Image in CS5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
But wait. \u00a0Let’s play a game of spot the differences. The first image (the one with the blonde) begins with her hands at her waist, then slightly out, in a diva like pose. \u00a0This is the first clue this picture is a set-up. \u00a0Secondly, her navel, nipples, and hair are all evident. Hair. Hair. \u00a0Hair. I have never seen an X-ray that showed such meticulous renditions of coiffure, much less one that would tell me the color of the person’s hair. It’s too good to be true. \u00a0The clincher is that I could not find this image attributable to any official source. \u00a0My verdict: the image is regular digital picture that was then manipulated on a computer to appear like a airport scanner’s image. \u00a0When that image is then inverted, the results, unsurprisingly look very realistic.<\/p>\n
And the TSA image? When inverted, it also looks very realistic. \u00a0But…the details are not so evident (no nipples or hair). \u00a0If it looks more real, it is only because \u00a0it transforms from a blue tint to a color more closely associated with skin tones. It’s an optical induction that makes us think it is more like a real photograph.<\/p>\n
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Inverted Image in CS5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The image of the portly woman is an accurate example of what the first 250 scanners used in US airports show. \u00a0It is also an accurate example of the shape of the person most likely to be in front of you in the security line. \u00a0These images are produced by using AIT (Advanced Imaging Technology), which emits X-rays. The scans are very accurate and honest. \u00a0There is no way to hide a gun, or a muffin top. \u00a0Next time, I will ask the TSA for a copy of my scan so I can use it as part of my body transformation motivation exercise regime.<\/p>\n
Airport Scanners – New Millimeter Wave Technology<\/h2>\n
The second batch of 250 scanners issued in the US airports relies on millimeter-wave technology produced by L-3 Communications<\/span><\/a><\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0These machines do not use radioactive X-rays but are even more accurate in portraying the body and finding concealed weapons. The TSA, responding to privacy concerns placed a digital filter over these images known as “backscatter technology”. \u00a0If you are standing in the security line and listen to the CEO of TSA speak on the monitors, he calls this “making the pictures fuzzy”.<\/p>\n
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TSA Millimeter Wave Technology<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Indeed, the modified scans show less detail, but you look like Homer Simpson, which is perhaps even more of a concern to some people. The scans still show enough contour detail to justify swapping the shoe ads on the bottom of the security checkpoint bins, for penis enlargement propaganda. This would bring targeted marketing to a completely new level and avoid all those annoying email spams.<\/p>\n
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TSA Millimeter Wave Technology with Backscatter Filter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Considering mass media and propaganda are frequently telling us how our bodies should look like, it is not surprising that we don’t want anybody to see our flaws. Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest one of all? \u00a0Apparently many Americans don’t want to know. \u00a0And in true American fashion, elevated the privacy issue to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit<\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n
Airport Scanners – Radioactive Fukushima and Chernobyl<\/h2>\n
All the buzz regarding matters of nudity, privacy and scanners, still leaves the issue of exposure to radiation open, at least for the AIT machines manufactured by \u00a0 Rapiscan Systems<\/span><\/a><\/span>. \u00a0Airport X-rays, however , are about as radioactive as the average banana<\/span><\/a><\/span>\u00a0(see chart). \u00a0If the use of scanners is to be overturned, then the sale of bananas in airports should also be stopped. Conversely, if the consumption of bananas is banned, the resulting cut in calories could maybe make people loose weight, and feel better about being scanned. \u00a0Then scanners could be brought back.<\/p>\n
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Bananas Are Radioactive Too - Normal Daily Dose of Radiation Comparison<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Airport Scanners – The Naked Truth<\/h2>\n
This all takes me to sharing what I saw in the Sao Paulo airport scanner screen on Monday. \u00a0What I saw surprised me. \u00a0The level of detail is astounding, real X-ray vision. I could see everything about the woman in front of me, right down to her tonsils. \u00a0Literally.<\/p>\n
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Sao Paulo, Brazil Airport Scanner Image - Jan Smith 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
I think those opposed to being scanned are not seeing the benefits in this type of imagery. The positive applications of scanners go beyond being honest mirrors and conduits for marketing plastic surgery. \u00a0The TSA could train doctors to be the new security teams (or security teams to be doctors). Scans could be used as early warnings for tumors, vascular problems, and orthopedic diagnostics of the spine. \u00a0It would reduce medical costs. \u00a0All that would be left to do is to ban bananas.<\/p>\n
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TSA Next Generation of Scanned Pictures Filters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Airport Scanners – Nude and Radioactive Photographs? As a photographer and somebody working in radiated environments (Chernobyl), the issue of airport scanners intrigues me. \u00a0Are they safe? \u00a0Can you really see somebody naked? \u00a0Is the person in the back room secretly checking us out, or laughing at us?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[469,470,288,471],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1645"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1645"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1784,"href":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1645\/revisions\/1784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Airport Scanners – Nude Men and Women<\/h2>\n