The Travails of the Astounding!

The tricorder was conceived of in the 60s by Gene Roddenberry for the original Star Trek series. Primarily used by Mr. Spock, it would take and display a quick and accurate survey of all detectable objects (organic and otherwise) in the immediate vicinity of its user. It would handily fit in a small form-fitting leather case and require no physical interaction with its environment in order to operate. With it, while scouting out new planets as the crew was wont to do in those carefree days of yore, Mr. Spock would be able to condescendingly and with authority rattle off details on the hundreds of types of local foliage, the complex network of animal life and chemical makeup of a planet without having to take a single Spocky step. Now, 40 years later it seems that once again, science is catching up to science fiction. The new and very real tricorder is the size of a cellphone and will soon be implemented in Martian research. Unlike the TR-107 Mark 1  (discontinued after selling 100,000 units in 1996) which would only scan for EM radiation, temperature, and barometric pressure this new device would shoot a laser at an object which would cause a slight disruption in the objects atoms (in the form of subtle vibration) and cause it to send a signal right back to the tricorder. As every object in the universe is imprinted with a unique vibration pattern it will soon be a cinch to tell a powdered donut from a mound of cocaine. Strung out bakers around the world will soon learn the meaning of fear. ANYWAY... When completed it is expected to be able to identify almost any known substance in the world and beyond. Privacy concerns aside, this sounds pretty dang cool. The cellphone sized device was developed at the University of Arizona by Robert Downs and Bonner Denton (yeah the same crazy Texan that holds the current World Land-Speed Record), by commission for NASAs nuclear powered 2009 mission to Mars.