Ray gun makes targets feel as if they are on fire

[onehandle]

MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Georgia (AP) -- The military's new weapon is a ray gun that shoots a beam that makes people feel as if they will catch fire.

The technology is supposed to be harmless -- a non-lethal way to get enemies to drop their weapons. Military officials say it could save the lives of civilians and service members in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

The weapon is not expected to go into production until at least 2010, but all branches of the military have expressed interest in it, officials said.

snip...

The crew fired beams from more than 500 yards (455 meters) away, nearly 17 times the range of existing non-lethal weapons, such as rubber bullets. While the sudden, 130-degree Fahrenheit (54.44 Celsius) heat was not painful, it was intense enough to make participants think their clothes were about to ignite.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/01/24/ray.gun.ap/index.html

[AX10]

1. Taser guns are/were only the begining. These weapons will get....

worse and worse. Hell, at this rate, the taser will become a "party gag" joke. :puke:

[Cooley Hurd]

2. That's what Nancy said:

Sorry, couldn't resist.:evilgrin:

[sofa king]

3. Ahem. That's ten years late.

And where in the hell is my flying car, eh?

I blame Windows 95 for the crushing of my 21st Century fantasies.

[whistle]

11. Why Windows 95?

[Whoa_Nelly]

4. hmmmmm,,,,War protester crowd control?

Sure would make roundin'em up a lot more efficient... :sarcasm:

[Igel]

8. If you're in a war zone or staging an occupation,

you can't use tear gas to disperse crowds. You can in the US in peacetime, of course. But they're chemical agents, banned in warfare.

What does that leave? Bullets rubber or real; batons and bayonets. These can kill and maim--and bullets and bayonets are a bit too close-range. There are always water cannons, but they're difficult to move around and deploy.

Given lots of bad choices, what's another bad choice?

[daleo]

17. Don't occupy foreign countries

Then you don't have to "pacify" them, or American war protesters.

[Igel]

32. In a perfect world, sure.

But if the options in an imperfect world are the deaths of the occupied or the deaths of the occupiers, I'd look for a third.

[Nihil]

33. Unfortunately ...

... this would reduce the incentive to find non-aggressive solutions
to problems (e.g., get the occupiers out of the invaded country).

FWIW, I'm not sure how much the invaders are really going to bother
with "non-lethal weapons" when the defenders are returning conventional
fire ...

:shrug:

(That's why I think the intended purpose of these weapons is domestic
crowd/protest control not "foreign" locations at all ...)

[struggle4progress]

5. Supposely harmless. The tests assume you'll be out of the beam in 3-5 secs,

and longer exposures will produce blisters or 2nd degree burns. I'm guessing it'll be ugly if eyes get any extended exposure.

[VTMechEngr]

20. A possibly bad assumption.

You trip and fall, or the guy targeting you holds the weapon on you. The possibilities are too plausible and endless.

[MadMaddie]

6. Another weapon that will be misused against American citizens

[geomon666]

7. What is with all of these f***ed up weapons coming out?

Guns that shoot soundwaves. Guns that cause seizures. Guns that make you nauseous. Guns that make you feel like you're on fire. What the f*** is going on?

[Fovea]

9. Stay home, shut up, be safe.

That is what it is about.

These are new water cannons to use on a new bunch of American protestors. And after that, the Halliburton detention camps.

[slackmaster]

15. The idea is for them to be less lethal than firearms but still effective

The purpose of using a weapon on someone, lawfully, is to control their behavior. The theory behind the newer weapons is that you can accomplish that goal with less chance of causing death or traumatic injury.

Until they come up with one as reliable as my M1911-A1 pistol, I'll stick with that.

[Up2Late]

19. Most of this stuff has been in development for several years now...

...the Discovery Channel (or TLC, I can't remember which one it was now) had a hour long show on all these "Non-lethal" weapons back in about 2003 or 2004. It was called something like "Future-Tech" or something like that.

I personally like the "Stingball Grenades and the computer controlled LED stealth uniform fabric, which makes the person wearing it almost invisible.

(Actually, Stingball Grenades really suck).
<http://www.sara.com/DE/access_DD/SC_stingball_grenade.html>

I figure this is just another aspect of the RW Media conspiracy to NOT report the real news (which, if reported, makes the WH and most Republicans look bad), so they are reporting these "gee-wiz!" distraction non-news stories to entertain the cable "news" lemmings until they find another "missing pretty white girl" story.

[Lautremont]

10. Have they given up on stink gun technology, then?

That was a big player, oh, around ought-three, ought-four, as I recall. Get off my lawn!

[NoodleyAppendage]

12. Finally! I have an actual use for my tinfoil hat!

However, now it looks like I'm going to need the construction of a tinfoil bodysuit. :tinfoilhat:

[sanskritwarrior]

13. Planning on cooking yourself

Tinfoil and microwaves..........mmmmmmm popcorn...... :D

[GoddessOfGuinness]

14. I thought he was still dead

Oh. You mean a real ray gun.

I have a hard time believing that something that feels bad is harmless. What are the long-term effects of getting zapped with something like that?

[grayokc]

18. You ever met the ex?

[daleo]

16. Not painful - as if

"While the sudden, 130-degree Fahrenheit (54.44 Celsius) heat was not painful, it was intense enough to make participants think their clothes were about to ignite."

Sounds like a torture weapon.

[shanti]

28. probably what they first said about the taser

:eyes:

[modrepub]

21. US military unveils heat-ray gun

US military unveils heat-ray gun

The US military has given the first public display of what it says is a revolutionary heat-ray weapon to repel enemies or disperse hostile crowds.

<snip>

It can penetrate clothes, suddenly heating up the skin of anyone in its path to 50C.

But it penetrates the skin only to a tiny depth - enough to cause discomfort but no lasting harm, according to the military.

A Reuters journalist who volunteered to be shot with the beam described the sensation as similar to a blast from a very hot oven - too painful to bear without diving for cover.

<link>

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6297149.stm

[Demeter]

22. Soon To Be The Latest Illegal and Immoral WMD

and the sooner it's banned, the better.

[peacebird]

23. it penetrates only a tiny depth at what DISTANCE? What if you are closer?

What if a person caught in its path has a weak heart? Tasers are called "safe and nonlethal" yet we keep hearing about suspects killed by tasers. What if the crowd is huge and a person cannot "dive for cover"? Does sustained exposure cause damage? What about the effects on children or the elderly?

[BulletproofLandshark]

24. Coming soon to an anti-war protest near you.

[MikeDuffy]

25. "according to the military"

Why would they lie? Have they ever lied before? Didn't Rumsfeld once vouch for their verbal integrity to reporters (oh, sorry, I just may have that backwards...)

[ChairmanAgnostic]

26. at the very time that a large march is planned for the DC Mall.

Coincidence?

Hmmmm.

[eagler]

27. be sure and bring a mirror to your next protest

nt

[Ian David]

30. Don't bring a mirror. Bring a retroflector. See prior threads for counter-measures discussion

"A retroreflector beams the energy back to its source, regardless. of orientation, unlike a simple mirror. The simplest retroreflector is just three sides of a cube. Many safety reflectors have an array of indentations of this shape molded into them."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retroreflector

There's a certain satisfaction in beaming their own weapon right back at them that simply hiding behind a mirror or Faraday cage doesn't give you.


See this thread for a discussion of counter-measures:

Air Force tests new ADS Weapon on humans and dogs
Tue Dec-05-06 12:38 PM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2861626

Active Denial System, meet "The Retroflector."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x30115#30227

[Ian David]

29. See prior thread: Military Shows Off New Ray Gun (AP)

Military Shows Off New Ray Gun (AP)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x30115

[maxsolomon]

31. at what point do american corporations develop a conscience?

someone works on this shit all day long & then goes home, kisses the wife, & hugs their kids. they probably feel they're 'saving lives' and keeping stock value up.

corporate personhood must be ended.
the miltary budget must be cut by 2/3.

[Nihil]

34. Only when under attack from flying pigs.

> Someone works on this shit all day long & then goes home,
> kisses the wife, & hugs their kids. they probably feel
> they're 'saving lives' and keeping stock value up.

Well they're obviously doing the right thing as such devices
would never be used on innocent civilians would they?

Everyone who becomes a victim of these devices was self-evidently
a troublemaker who deserved it "and at least it wasn't a bullet".