Patent ID: 6895074

Claim:
A method for nondestructively measuring a density of a panel, comprising the steps of: directing a collimated radiation beam onto and along a length of said panel at a first oblique angle; continuously detecting a resultant beam of a plurality of emitted photons with at least one detector in a row directed at said panel and each of said at least one detector set at a second oblique angle; counting only photons of said plurality of emitted photons with an energy above a minimum energy level, wherein said counting step is performed by each of said at least one detector, each of said at least one detector comprised of: a scintillation detector, said scintillation detector comprised of a crystal and a photomultiplier tube, said crystal producing a plurality of light photons when an X-ray or gamma ray is detected, and said photomultiplier tube amplifying said plurality of light photons and converting said plurality of light photons into a pulse of electrons; a spectral analyzer comprised of a discriminator, said discriminator selecting only light photons of said plurality of light photons with an energy level above said minimum energy level, a pulse converter, said pulse converter converting said pulse of electrons into at least one digital signal, and a counter, said counter counting said at least one digital signal; and supporting electronics, said supporting electronics electronically connecting said scintillation detector and said spectral analyzer; and generating a density profile of said panel.