Active biometric spectroscopy

1. A method, comprising:

applying electromagnetic radiation to at least partially penetrate an organism using a source of the electromagnetic radiation spaced from the organism;

measuring radiation proximate to the organism over a range of frequencies to obtain a measured spectrum;

comparing the measured spectrum to a frequency spectra signature to generate a comparison result; and

producing a spectrogram from the measured spectrum.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

comparing the measured spectrum to a second frequency spectra signature to generate a second comparison result; and

determining which of the frequency spectra signature and the second frequency spectra signature most closely resembles the measured spectrum.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the applying radiation further comprises using a human as the organism.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

using the comparison result to distinguish between the organism and a second organism.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

applying second radiation to a second organism;

measuring second radiation proximate to the second organism over a second range of frequencies to obtain a second measured spectrum;

comparing the second measured spectrum to a second frequency spectra signature to determine a second comparison result; and

using the comparison result and the second comparison result to distinguish the organism from the second organism.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the applying radiation further comprises focusing the radiation on the organism.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measuring radiation further comprises focusing the radiation on a detector.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measuring radiation further comprises measuring the radiation with a plurality of detectors.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measuring radiation further comprises using detectors that each measure a different frequency range in the plurality of detectors.

10. An apparatus, comprising:

a transmitter configured to apply electromagnetic radiation to at least partially penetrate an organism, wherein the transmitter is spaced from the organism;

a detector located proximate to the organism and configured to measure radiation that has interacted with the organism;

an apparatus configured to focus the radiation after it has interacted with the organism onto the detector; and

an analyzer coupled to the detector and the transmitter,

wherein the analyzer is configured to produce a measured spectrum from a detector measurement over a range of frequencies and to compare the measured spectrum to a frequency spectra signature to determine a comparison result, and

wherein the analyzer is configured to produce a spectrogram from the measured spectrum.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the analyzer is configured to implement a fast Fourier transform to produce the spectrogram.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the analyzer is configured to shift the range of frequencies to produce the spectrogram.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the analyzer is further configured to:

compare the measured spectrum to a second frequency spectra signature to determine a second comparison result; and

determine which of the frequency spectra signature and the second frequency spectra signature most closely resembles the measured spectrum.

14. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the organism comprises a human organism.

15. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the analyzer is configured to use the comparison result to distinguish the organism from a second organism.

16. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein:

the transmitter is configured to apply second radiation to a second organism;

the detector is configured to measure second radiation proximate to the second organism over a second range of frequencies to obtain a second measured spectrum; and

the analyzer is configured to:

compare the second measured spectrum to a second frequency spectra signature to determine a second comparison result; and

use the comparison result and the second comparison result to distinguish between the organism and the second organism.

17. The apparatus of claim 10 , further comprising:

a second detector,

wherein the first detector and the second detector each measure a different frequency range.

18. A tangible computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, upon execution by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

applying electromagnetic radiation to at least partially penetrate an organism using a source of the electromagnetic radiation spaced from the organism;

measuring radiation proximate to the organism over a range of frequencies to obtain a measured spectrum;

comparing the measured spectrum to a frequency spectra signature to generate a comparison result; and

producing a spectrogram from the measured spectrum.

19. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein upon execution of the instructions by the computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations further comprising:

comparing the measured spectrum to a second frequency spectra signature to determine a second comparison result; and

determining which of the frequency spectra signature and the second frequency spectra signature most closely resembles the measured spectrum.

20. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein upon execution of the instructions by the computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations further comprising:

applying second radiation to a second organism;

measuring second radiation proximate to the second organism over a second range of frequencies to obtain a second measured spectrum;

comparing the second measured spectrum to a second frequency spectra signature to determine a second comparison result; and

using the comparison result and the second comparison result to distinguish the organism from the second organism.

21. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein upon execution of the instructions by the computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations further comprising:

focusing radiation on the detector.

22. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein upon execution of the instructions by the computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations further comprising:

measuring with a plurality of detectors.

23. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 22 , wherein each detector in the plurality of detectors measures a different frequency range.

24. A method, comprising:

applying radiation to an organism;

measuring radiation proximate to the organism over a range of frequencies between about 10 GHz and about 1 THz to obtain a measured spectrum;

comparing the measured spectrum to a frequency spectra signature to generate a comparison result; and

producing a spectrogram from the measured spectrum.

25. An apparatus, comprising:

a transmitter configured to apply radiation to an organism;

a detector located proximate to the organism and configured to measure radiation that has interacted with the organism;

an apparatus configured to focus the radiation after it has interacted with the organism onto the detector; and

an analyzer coupled to the detector and the transmitter,

wherein the analyzer is configured to produce a measured spectrum from a detector measurement over a range of frequencies between about 10 GHz and about 1 THz and to compare the measured spectrum to a frequency spectra signature to determine a comparison result, and

wherein the analyzer is configured to produce a spectrogram from the measured spectrum.

26. A tangible computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, upon execution by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

applying radiation to an organism;

measuring radiation proximate to the organism over a range of frequencies between about 10 GHz and about 1 THz to obtain a measured spectrum;

comparing the measured spectrum to a frequency spectra signature to generate a comparison result; and

producing a spectrogram from the measured spectrum.