<p class="title">Researchers have come up with an innovative laser technology that uses Raman spectroscopy which may help avoid road accidents on icy roads during winters.</p>.<p class="bodytext">They have detected a problematic substance known as 'hydrohalite', which forms on icy roads.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Hydrohalite is normally left unremoved, as it does not respond to the conventional de-icing method of road surface salting. Once formed, repeated salting will not remove it, according to the researchers at the Technical University of Denmark.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Invisible to the naked eye, hydrohalite can form on both roads and pavements, presenting a serious threat to all road users if left untreated.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The findings, published in the journal Applied Spectroscopy Reviews, suggest that hydrohalite can be easily detected by using Raman spectroscopy, which can identify the structure of a molecule and the presence of a substance.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Since ice and hydrohalite are very different structurally, Raman instruments fitted with lasers could therefore be installed in salt-spreading trucks and snow ploughs, allowing drivers or an automated system to identify the most appropriate method to make the ice melt.</p>.<p class="bodytext">If hydrohalite was found, the driver could then switch to a more appropriate de-icer, such as one mixed with sand and gravel, to ensure the road is completely clear and safer for road users.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Equipping salt-spreading trucks with Raman detectors - essentially small boxes which would sit underneath the vehicles - would be a relatively straightforward solution," said Rolf W Berg, from the Technical University of Denmark. </p>
<p class="title">Researchers have come up with an innovative laser technology that uses Raman spectroscopy which may help avoid road accidents on icy roads during winters.</p>.<p class="bodytext">They have detected a problematic substance known as 'hydrohalite', which forms on icy roads.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Hydrohalite is normally left unremoved, as it does not respond to the conventional de-icing method of road surface salting. Once formed, repeated salting will not remove it, according to the researchers at the Technical University of Denmark.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Invisible to the naked eye, hydrohalite can form on both roads and pavements, presenting a serious threat to all road users if left untreated.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The findings, published in the journal Applied Spectroscopy Reviews, suggest that hydrohalite can be easily detected by using Raman spectroscopy, which can identify the structure of a molecule and the presence of a substance.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Since ice and hydrohalite are very different structurally, Raman instruments fitted with lasers could therefore be installed in salt-spreading trucks and snow ploughs, allowing drivers or an automated system to identify the most appropriate method to make the ice melt.</p>.<p class="bodytext">If hydrohalite was found, the driver could then switch to a more appropriate de-icer, such as one mixed with sand and gravel, to ensure the road is completely clear and safer for road users.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Equipping salt-spreading trucks with Raman detectors - essentially small boxes which would sit underneath the vehicles - would be a relatively straightforward solution," said Rolf W Berg, from the Technical University of Denmark. </p>