The U.S. Defense Department on Wednesday unveiled what it called a revolutionary heat-beaming weapon that could be used to control mobs or repel foes in conflicts like Iraq and Afghanistan.Right.
The so-called Active Denial System causes an intense burning sensation causing people to run for cover, but no lasting harm, officials said.
I wrote in "Things to Come," (GUNS AND AMMO magazine, July 2002) about a weapon under development that, per Wired.com, "releases two ultraviolet laser beams... that paralyz[e] the skeletal muscles of people and animals up to 2 kilometers away":
The non-lethality claim is also interesting, it's just not particularly believable. It's supposedly limited to wavelengths that can't damage eyes and internal organs, but are there any doubts that a "black" R&D project devoted to wave transmissions and frequency modulations won't develop a workaround? Assuming they haven't already?And as I also asked in that article about another weapon:
Any bets on whether one of these babies will ever make it to the civilian market?[Via John Schaefer]