This is so cool it's scary. The U.S. government is experimenting with a technology that can identify the molecular components of cargo crossing the border. So it can tell if the contents of a barrel are flour or cocaine. Or anthrax.

Right now, it's just one machine, and it will only be used for suspicious trucks passing in from Mexico. But if the government made everything passing through its border pass through this, the drug trade would stop in its tracks. As would other smuggling activities.

The downsides are significant right now. First, the cost: $10 million per unit. Second, the time: it takes 10 minutes to scan the contents of a 18-wheeler. And third: it's nuclear, so operators require radiation protection. Still tough, those things can be overcome in time.

The privacy invasion brought on by the PATRIOT act may be nothing compared to this. Soon, the US will be able to count exactly how much money is in your wallet without you even knowing. Or be able to tell what you had for lunch by examining the contents of your stomach as you pass through the XRay machine.

New Nukes at U.S. Border

U.S. agents next week will start scanning trucks crossing the Mexico border with a device that shoots neutrons to detect what exactly is hidden in the cargo. By Ryan Singel.