Nuclear (high-Z) materials more strongly deflect muons than do the low-Z materials found in typical shipping cargoes. In muon scans, detectors above and below a truck would record each muon's path before and after it passes through the cargo. Using this information and muon scattering theory, a computer program would then calculate and display three-dimensional images of objects with high atomic numbers and number densities—signature properties of nuclear materials.

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