OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD FORGERY FIX

After reading about Room 39 in the “Off-limits Places” article in your March 2016 issue, which mentions how North Korea steals $ 2 billion a year by counterfeiting currency, I thought your readers would like to hear this too. This is a recap of an idea I already sent to NASA with zero reply. In the International Space Station, in zero gravity, it is possible to forge alloys, like a unique aluminum/ lead alloy, that are impossible to forge on Earth. If so, why not have the mints of all nations buy spools of ribbons of this unique alloy from the ISS to put sections of it in all their bills, so they will have a unique electronic signature which bill checkers could scan and which counter feiters can never make on Earth? Robert G. Schreib Jr.,

Toms River, NJ

Sounds like a way to cut out the ability to counterfeit around the globe. It makes one wonder what kind of backlash such a move would have among circles of nefarious individuals. It would have been good to receive a reply so you could be apprised of how feasible the idea is from the expert point of view and receive feedback on any potential obstacles to implementation. If the idea does ever get picked up, we can say we knew you when!