  The development of a mm-spatial-resolution, resonant-response detector based
on a micrometric glass capillary array filled with liquid scintillator is
described. This detector was developed for Gamma Resonance Absorption (GRA) in
14N. GRA is an automatic-decision radiographic screening technique that
combines high radiation penetration (the probe is a 9.17 MeV gamma ray) with
very good sensitivity and specificity to nitrogenous explosives. Detailed
simulation of the detector response to electrons and protons generated by the
9.17 MeV gamma-rays was followed by a proof-of-principle experiment, using a
mixed gamma-ray and neutron source. Towards this, a prototype capillary
detector was assembled, including the associated filling and readout systems.
Simulations and experimental results indeed show that proton tracks are
distinguishable from electron tracks at relevant energies, on the basis of a
criterion that combines track length and light intensity per unit length.
