# Is there an, "Eraser," style imaging system in real life? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 17, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490 "2010-04-17T22:52:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ficer67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Ficer67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ficer67)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490/1 "2010-04-17T22:52:57Z")
Does anyone remember the movie, “Eraser,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vanessa Williams? It came out in 1996, and you can all look it up on the internet movie database website. In that movie, Arnold fends off an attack from bad guys who use, among other things, thermal imaging cameras, that can see through the walls of a wood frame house, but not through a refrigerator. The imaging system could see the dishes in a dishwasher. So, my question is, 14 years or so after the movie, is there any imaging system that comes remotely close to what was depicted in that movie? ---
**Author:** ![Ficer67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Ficer67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ficer67)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490/2 "2010-04-17T22:53:59Z")
By the way, if anyone has not seen the movie, you can watch it on you tube. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490/3 "2010-04-17T23:16:00Z")
> [@Ficer67](#): > > Does anyone remember the movie, “Eraser,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vanessa Williams? It came out in 1996, and you can all look it up on the internet movie database website. In that movie, Arnold fends off an attack from bad guys who use, among other things, thermal imaging cameras, that can see through the walls of a wood frame house, but not through a refrigerator. The imaging system could see the dishes in a dishwasher. > > So, my question is, 14 years or so after the movie, is there any imaging system that comes remotely close to what was depicted in that movie? In a word: No. Ultrawide band RADAR may eventually be developed to the point where this is possible, but it’s got a pretty long way to go. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490/4 "2010-04-18T13:45:48Z")
> [@Ficer67](#): > > Does anyone remember the movie, “Eraser,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vanessa Williams? It came out in 1996, and you can all look it up on the internet movie database website. In that movie, Arnold fends off an attack from bad guys who use, among other things, thermal imaging cameras, that can see through the walls of a wood frame house, but not through a refrigerator. The imaging system could see the dishes in a dishwasher. > > So, my question is, 14 years or so after the movie, is there any imaging system that comes remotely close to what was depicted in that movie? there are some radar systems in development that can show the walls inside a building, and apparently people. The army is very interested for obvious reasons. But as far as I know it isn’t a functioning system yet. On a related idea, I was intrigued by the concept of using a doppler radar tuned to the frequency of the heartrate. The radar would only detect a beating heart. What happened next is something I would rather not think about… ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490/5 "2010-04-18T14:21:23Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > What happened next is something I would rather not think about… Tricorders? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Improvisor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/50afbb/32.png) [@Improvisor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improvisor)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490/6 "2010-04-19T20:19:38Z")
You can kind-of do it with a whole bunch of off-the-shelf WiFi routers: [http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/24193/?a=f](http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/24193/?a=f) ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490/7 "2010-04-20T02:29:09Z")
Why would it see inside a dishwasher but not a fridge? ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490/8 "2010-04-20T02:39:02Z")
If it were a thermal imaging device tuned to the range of human temperatures, objects in the fridge would be cooler and not show up, while dishes that have been washed may be cooled to the point of human temperature. Or else it is Hollywood BS, your choice. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490/9 "2010-04-20T04:13:42Z")
So objects in a fridge would be safe from thermal imaging OR from a nuclear bomb? (Reference: Popular movie sequel that _Jumped the Shark_ AND _Bombed the Fridge_) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490/10 "2010-04-20T04:43:57Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > Why would it see inside a dishwasher but not a fridge? Refrigerators are pretty heavily insulated, while dishwashers typically are not. ---
**Author:** ![ivn1188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@ivn1188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivn1188)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490/11 "2010-04-20T07:46:57Z")
Ok, let’s talk a bit about thermal imaging. It doesn’t work through glass, let alone any metal surface. Almost all surfaces are more opaque to thermals than they are IR or visual. The insulation of a dishwasher or fridge makes zero difference. When you put a pan on the stove and turn on the burner, you’ll notice it takes a while for the edges of the pan to heat up. This observation explains why thermal can’t see through solid surfaces – the heat conductivity and thermal mass of almost any solid (and most liquid) material makes it too slow and too diffuse to provide a sharp image of a heat source inside. The whole drug search camera thing happens because one section of a house, viewed from the outside through a thermographic system, will appear hot. It’s not seeing through the walls, it’s detecting that enough heat is inside the building to heat up the walls beyond ambient. The other thing is that thermals do make it easier to see through brush, etc. But this is a function of the target giving off heat, not because thermals see through anything. Think of a lamp sitting behind a bush. It’s easy to see a lit lamp through the branches, but not one that’s turned off. Some bands of radar, or x-ray backscatter sensors, or some other fancy imaging system might be able to see through walls, eventually, at a level much below that depicted in Eraser. The funny thing about that movie is that they make such a big to do about the railgun weapon, but ignore the awesome technical achievement of a portable scope capable of looking through solid surfaces. It’s pretty much straight up sci-fi. ---
**Author:** ![Ficer67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Ficer67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ficer67)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490/12 "2010-04-23T08:59:24Z")
OK, well what is “state of the art” for this sort of thing? Ultra wide band radar? Is there something else? ---
**Author:** ![Recliner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a88e57/32.png) [@Recliner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recliner)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490/13 "2010-04-23T10:06:58Z")
> [@ivn1188](#): > > The whole drug search camera thing happens because one section of a house, viewed from the outside through a thermographic system, will appear hot. It’s not seeing through the walls, it’s detecting that enough heat is inside the building to heat up the walls beyond ambient. The other thing is that thermals do make it easier to see through brush, etc. But this is a function of the target giving off heat, not because thermals see through anything. Think of a lamp sitting behind a bush. It’s easy to see a lit lamp through the branches, but not one that’s turned off. FWIW, I’ve heard that the big thing when searching for grow-houses or what-have-you is that there are enough cracks in a house to let the grabbable “data” appear – and random things like a window open. Any truth? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490/14 "2010-05-05T14:40:58Z")
Here’s a current see-though-walls radar system: [http://www.ecnmag.com/Blogs/2010/05/Through-wall-Radar/](http://www.ecnmag.com/Blogs/2010/05/Through-wall-Radar/) ---
**Author:** ![JWT\_Kottekoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@JWT\_Kottekoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JWT_Kottekoe)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490/15 "2010-05-06T01:50:35Z")
The new active millimeter wave systems developed for airport security could image through walls. Sheet rock and plywood should not present too much of a problem, but brick or concrete would be trouble, and metal would be impenetrable. Backscatter Xray would be able to penetrate better, but can’t be focused, like millimeter waves. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490/16 "2010-05-06T15:03:12Z")
> [@ivn1188](#): > > The funny thing about that movie is that they make such a big to do about the railgun weapon, but ignore the awesome technical achievement of a portable scope capable of looking through solid surfaces. It’s pretty much straight up sci-fi. They also conveniently ignore the physics of if you shoot a gun that fires a projectile powerful enough to send a man flying 100 feet, it will also be powerful enough to send the shooter 100 feet in the opposite direction. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490/18 "2022-03-17T22:11:19Z")
Yes, but can a man hold on by his fingertips in a 250mph slipstream? Or is that only in the airspace above Hollywood? I see where Ahnold can jump from the nosewheel of a passenger jet taking off (150mph?) and land unharmed in a mucky swamp without going in so deep he sticks and drowns… but that was a different alternate reality from _Eraser_. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490/19 "2022-03-17T23:18:12Z")
Well, I can’t speak to the slipstream bit, but if he’s a zombie, it won’t matter how deep he goes, gotta have a central nervous system disconnect to kill a zombie, drowning won’t do it. Regarding seeing through walls via IR, radar, x-ray, wifi, uv etc. There was a bit on NPR this am about a college(?) student who has developed an improvement to using the ubiquitous wifi/blutooth radio wave that surrounds us, flows through us,\* to do exactly that. He said it doesn’t do it with great fidelity at this point, but he thinks it will serve as a jumping off point for further development of the idea. Trying to find a the story online to provide a link, no luck yet, perhaps nothing will come of it, or someone closer to the field of research might have better luck. \*and binds us and guides us ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490/20 "2022-03-18T00:08:18Z")
If you really want to see through walls, gamma rays’ll do it: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/VACIS_Gamma-ray_Image_with_stowaways.GIF) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/VACIS_Gamma-ray_Image_with_stowaways.GIF) [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Mobile_VACIS_Gamma-ray_Image.jpeg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Mobile_VACIS_Gamma-ray_Image.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490/21 "2022-03-18T11:32:30Z")
> [@DorkVader](#): > > Well, I can’t speak to the slipstream bit, but if he’s a zombie, it won’t matter how deep he goes, gotta have a central nervous system disconnect to kill a zombie, drowning won’t do it. Weird. I thought I was replying to a current thread on the main page. Or did a spam reply that revived it get deleted in the meantime? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-eraser-style-imaging-system-in-real-life/536490.md?page=2)