VOLUNTEERS taking part in tests of the Pentagon's "less-lethal" microwave weapon were banned from wearing glasses or contact lenses due to safety fears. The precautions raise concerns about how safe the Active Denial System (ADS) weapon would be if used in real crowd-control situations.
The ADS fires a 95-gigahertz microwave beam, which is supposed to heat skin and to cause pain but no physical damage (New Scientist, 27 October 2001, p 26). Little information about its effects has been released, but details of tests in 2003 and 2004 were revealed after Edward Hammond, director of the US Sunshine Project - an organisation campaigning against the use of biological and non-lethal weapons - requested them under the Freedom of Information Act.
The tests were carried out at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Two experiments tested pain tolerance levels, while in a third, a "limited military utility assessment", volunteers played the part of rioters or intruders and the ADS was used to drive them away.
The experimenters banned glasses and contact lenses to prevent possible eye damage to the subjects, and in the second and third tests removed any metallic objects such as coins and keys to stop hot spots being created on the skin. They also checked the volunteers' clothes for certain seams, buttons and zips which might also cause hot spots.
The ADS weapon's beam causes pain within 2 to 3 seconds and it becomes intolerable after less than 5 seconds. People's reflex responses to the pain is expected to force them to move out of the beam before their skin can be burnt.
But Neil Davison, co-ordinator of the non-lethal weapons research project at the University of Bradford in the UK, says controlling the amount of radiation received may not be that simple. "How do you ensure that the dose doesn't cross the threshold for permanent damage?" he asks. "What happens if someone in a crowd is unable, for whatever reason, to move away from the beam? Does the weapon cut out to prevent overexposure?"
During the experiments, people playing rioters put up their hands when hit and were given a 15-second cooling-down period before being targeted again. One person suffered a burn in a previous test when the beam was accidentally used on the wrong power setting.
A vehicle-mounted version of ADS called Sheriff could be in service in Iraq in 2006 according to the Department of Defense, and it is also being evaluated by the US Department of Energy for use in defending nuclear facilities. The US marines and police are both working on portable versions, and the US air force is building a system for controlling riots from the air.
“What happens if someone is unable to move away from the beam?”
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18725095.600
Ok well - guess they shouldn't be acting up.
http://www.bluecavcustoms.com
That would depend on your definition of "acting up". Way things seem to be going, I can forsee national guard dispersing anti-war protests with this. Just another weapon they have yet to determine all effects. We did a pretty good job of seeding Iraq with depleted uranium rounds the past decade or so. Guess we're just going to cut to the chase and start irradiating them. Funny. Thats how they control the fruit fly population in Florida.
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"The J's weren't designed to be sports cars, the suspension sucks, the brakes are tiny, and the target market for our car doesn't need to be able to do any more than 65mph." - Shifted
A more accurate observation has never been typed. These should be the starting points before any serious performance modification. What's the point of making a serious performer if you can't control it's power?
John Titor was right!!!
Go now and buy bicycle tires, lots of them.
I'm a born skeptic, but I have faith in man.
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"The J's weren't designed to be sports cars, the suspension sucks, the brakes are tiny, and the target market for our car doesn't need to be able to do any more than 65mph." - Shifted
A more accurate observation has never been typed. These should be the starting points before any serious performance modification. What's the point of making a serious performer if you can't control it's power?
Beam weapons are an obvious indication of intelligent beings.
<img src="http://home.nycap.rr.com/xenox/jbody/jbody_shocker.jpg">
Hey does this mean we can take popcorn to protests?
Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.
i would love to have one of these at some pro life rally, that would be great fun
1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85
I'm sure plans for the device will leak onto ebay within the week... Keeping my eyes open..
<img src="http://home.nycap.rr.com/xenox/jbody/jbody_shocker.jpg">
Ever heard of John Titor? He predicted all of this (or so he says). If he was right, we're so screwed.
http://johntitor.com/
I would just like to know how long for a bag of popcorn? Mmmm butter!
Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.
sad that ppl believe in so much religous bs in the future according to him
1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85
