It looks like the Tricorder is making the leap from science fiction to science fact. The 2009 mission to Mars will feature a tricorder-like device capable of determining the composition of minerals in Martian rocks and soil. What it actually is; is a portable Raman spectrometer and a database of all known minerals.
And it's not limited to rocks and minerals.
"Bonner Denton has a demonstration he uses upstairs. He takes a bottle of Tylenol, a white plastic container and the pills are inside. You can shoot the Raman [spectrometer] and a laser goes through that white plastic, it identifies the three parts of Tylenol and it tells you what the plastic is made out of. It works on leaves. I can identify the species of trees by shooting their leaves. I don't think the biologists are aware of this yet."
Tricorders on Mars
Mars Only?
