Heat-Ray weapons

[Jodo]

Check out what the US military have developed (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6297149.stm)

[rob444]

New news, old project that was revealed a long time ago.

[unreal]

Yeah, tis veeerrrry old news. Interesting why they've decided to only make them available by 2010 though. They probably have several already built and fully functioning, that one in itself clearly works and would be a great use in Iraq, or anywhere else for that matter.

[CMaster]

I forsee lawsuits.
I also want to know who you are going to find to drive towards people firing assasult rifles to make them nice and toasty?

[Dribble Joy]

It's a support weapon, for crowds/riots and backing up an opperation, going in alone is unlikely. As for lawsuits, I can't see why, It is near enough harmless, it won't burn you, it only causes temporary pain, which is quite different from the affects of tear gas, water cannons (which are quite capable of stripping the skin off) and rubber bullets.

[CMaster]

The US millitary claims its harmless.
Since when has that stopped people blaming X for causing them cancer and suing. I only mention approaching armed people because it discusses using it to force opponents to drop weapons.

[unreal]

It's a support weapon, for crowds/riots and backing up an opperation[ edited ]
I also want to know who you are going to find to drive towards people firing assasult rifles to make them nice and toasty?Well, the vehicle would be armoured for such an occasion wouldn't it? They won't be driving round with the thing attached to the roof of a Mini Cooper. :rolleyes:

[RogerRamjet]

[ edited ]Well, the vehicle would be armoured for such an occasion wouldn't it? They won't be driving round with the thing attached to the roof of a Mini Cooper. :rolleyes:

[ edited ]

[Lodar]

Remember, it is against the forum rules to discuss politics. By all means discuss the nature of this weapon, but lets keep politics out of this thread.

[rob444]

I doubt it's a healthy weapon, I'm sure you would get hurt by it if you get exposed too much.
Not sure what kind of waves it is but it sounds like microwaves because they heat you up from inside out as this weapon does - and microwaves are pretty much unhealthy if exposed too much, I could be wrong though... Gamma rays does that too but I'm sure they dont use that for crowd control unless they want a horde of mutants :P.

[ashley watts]

A few gun shots to that dish would surly disrupt the rays path.

looks completly bonkers imo though

[Jodo]

Not sure how well this one would work.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6295567.stm

[Dribble Joy]

Micro waves don't heat from the inside out, common misconception.
How they work is that the dipole on water molecules tries to align itself with the changing electricomagnetic field, causing friction. So only those molecules in the path of the wave will be affected, once the wave and thus it's energy has been disipated by the dipole action, it will not continue further. The rest is done by simple conduction (Old microwave ovens had a problem with low/uneven internal heating).
Penetration depth is dependant in the wavelength of the waves, penetration of microwaves in cooking is quite high, with a wavelength of about 10-15cm, the ray-weapon uses a 1mm wavelength. This means the depth penetrated is small.
In fact it means that you can be a lot more efficient, the wave density is a lot higher, one wavelength covers a small depth of tissue, so the power needed is much lower.

As for shooting the dish, if you scroll down you'll notice it says it's bullet-proof.
That said stick a 30mm round in it and I'm sure you'll make holes.

[Zerion]

I remember reading about this a year or so ago, with a counter-point about reactions from people who wore glasses (it was causing burns to their eyes). Wonder if it still is (or ever was?) an issue.

[CMaster]

Probably still an issue.
Any non-lethal weapon still has a tendency to ineviatably result in some severe injuries and deaths.

[calim]

I'm pretty sure this weapon doesn't work without gold Kryptonite







:lol:

[Dribble Joy]

I remember reading about this a year or so ago, with a counter-point about reactions from people who wore glasses (it was causing burns to their eyes). Wonder if it still is (or ever was?) an issue.
Depends, refraction is dependant not only on the difference in matterials, but on wavelength. The order of magnitude between 1mm microwaves and the longest visible light wavelengths is about 3.

Using the Sellmeier relationship, a value for the refractive index of glass for microwaves can be obtained, with a result of about 1.8 (some glasses use materials which have this value (thinner lenses), but this would be increased too), which would move the focal point of glasses far enough (probably, I would have to number crunch a bit more) sufficiently for any magnification to be negligable or even to the extent that they provide protection.
Though I don't know exactly, this is the sort of thing that this technology would have to go through before being rolled out.

Remember that this isn't like laser non-lethal weapons, the energy density is a lot lower and thus the rate it disperses is to, maintaining an intolerable but non-harmful feeling (in theory).

[Jodo]

Micro waves don't heat from the inside out, common misconception.

Yeah, thats one of those urban myths usually mentioned in a story about an old lady microwaving her cat by accident. The stories get told so much that even if the story is thought to be a lie, the reasoning behind it will often get believed.

[Dribble Joy]

Though apparently the one about the squaddie getting mashed and putting a hampster in the microwave is true......

[Jodo]

Though apparently the one about the squaddie getting mashed and putting a hampster in the microwave is true......

lol, most stories regarding squaddies are true. Any type of idiocy, drunkenness or depravity has been pretty much covered by squaddies at one time or another. :lol:

[Dribble Joy]

A mate of mine knows one who can riffle shuffle a deck of card in one hand. Not a skill you would normally associate with a squaddie....