Video of Military Ray Gun

[RV_]

So today I get an email with an article titled pew, pew, pew, which I finally realized was supposed to be the sound of ray guns a la "Star Wars."

 

This tech is really cool, er, hot! It's called the "Active Denial System" and a prototype is touring military bases doing demos of the system.

 

Excerpt:

 

"The Active Denial System has been sort of touring U.S. military bases, Camp Pendleton most recently last month. The above footage, posted by Gung Ho Videos Tuesday, is typical: People get hit by the radiation weapon, then they run.

 

There’s been a bit of a hold-up for the ADS, though, overall; it hasn’t been used in combat. It penetrates the skin to 1/64th of an inch and creates “intolerable heat,” per the video, and can be targeted to one person or more than one. Crowd control, therefore, makes sense as one of the uses. However, there are concerns about this “non-lethal” weapon and whether it’s all that non-lethal. (Some of people in the “non-lethal” business have taken to using the term “less than lethal.”)

China’s version, and its foibles, have made headlines of late, too.

 

An aside: The dude in the video is weirdly enthusiastic about the idea of getting to shoot people with a ray gun".

 

http://blogs.rollcall.com/five-by-five/pew-pew-pew-video-of-military-ray-gun/?dcz=

[DJW]

That's going to go over well. A cop cannot hit a person up along side the head with his night stick for spitting in his face but he can Zap him with a "Ray Gun". Me thinks that will not play well in Poughkeepie. What if the cops forgets to put it on stun and he vaporizes the dude. Will that still be called excessive use of force or just trash removal?

 

Dennis

[budeneighe]

The big question is not could we but should we? There has got to be some simple protections that people can use to protect themselves. Like mylar foil umbrellas? Umbrellas have worked in China against pepper sprays. I can't see how there can be any successful long term applicability. Sure, surprise aspect will work... for a time but it's not hard to imagine that a $5 umbrella could beat a $5,000,000 weapon (cost only assumed but typical ).

 

As long as it is so bulky pretty immobile it will not be too effective. If it can be personalized to be easily carried by individuals that can move around and use it from many different angles, it has really limited long term potential. Imagine crowd control with a spitball shooting howitzer on a tank.

[DuffMan]

I wonder if it cooks the eyeballs? Notice there is no mention of lasting effects. (They let you assume it is harmless.)

 

Also as mentioned above a Mylar suit with metal screen face shield should be able to defeat it - unless they really crank up the power then it becomes just shy of lethal.

[Cyberdave]

I saw a show a few years ago it was called "Future Weapons" and they demonstrated one of the prototypes for the show. It is by no means pin point but creates a zone.

 

Good idea? Absolutely It would beat tear gas, rubber bullets, night sticks and cattle prods. You could keep people at a distance without using force.

 

In the military environment it would help control avenues of approach, access points etc...

 

Thing is as mentioned easily defeated with anything conductive.. Screen suits..Tin man..

[DuffMan]

It's interesting to see all those soldiers "volunteering" to be used as targets for the demonstrations. 1/64th inch into the eyeballs is the cornea - I wonder if these are accelerated cataracts waiting to happen in future years for those unsuspecting "volunteers". You'd think they would at least mention any risks of use in that demonstration video.

[skp51443]

Warnings like they did for the soldiers on site and the down-winders when they did the New Mexico and Nevada nuke tests?

[RV_]

Amen Stan,

 

" As soon as you sign your volunteer understanding of the possibilities of adverse effects, the doctor will be administering a new medicine to enhance your perceptions. It is called Lysergic Acid Diethylamide. Please report any strange thoughts and feelings as they occur. "

 

[budeneighe]

Instinctively, one's eyelids immediately close when something affects the eyeball. Eyelids are certainly 1/64th and this "ray" does not contain any ultraviolet rays (I don't think) which is the primary cause of cataracts although steroids and corticosteroids also cause them to evolve.

 

I think the problem with these "tests" is the lack of motivation by the subjects. I would also guess that they were briefed a little and maybe preconditioned to flee as a response to the heating. Does not take a lot of imagination to use hostages as shields or in the case of radical muslims, suicide shields to advance on a position.

 

The animal response to survival is very extraordinary. Think about how ants make sacrificial bridges of their bodies to provide survival of the colony in floods or to bridge gaps in their marches (think the army ants of Africa). When one is debating the response of humans to a threat it is much more complex and, I believe, would depend a lot more on motivation than on sample results of static tests.