Friday, July 21, 2006

A Microwave Weapon (Burn! Burn! Burn!)

It's only a matter of time before someone turns the microwave oven inside-out and focuses it on people.

I guess we can use aluminum foil or sheet metal to block it, or even use a reflector dish to bounce it to someone else.

...The Active Denial System (ADS) is a non-lethal, directed-energy weapon system under development by the U.S. military. It is a strong microwave transmitter."...

..."The ADS works by directing electromagnetic radiation at a frequency of 95 GHz toward the subjects. This frequency means the radiation is in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In comparison, a standard microwave oven cooks food with about 2.4 GHz waves, so the ADS's radiation is more energetic, but much less prone to penetrate skin — the military says the effect "penetrates the skin to a depth of less than 1/64 of an inch." The focused beam can be directed at targets at a range of one kilometer...

...The energy in the waves turns to heat upon skin contact and immediately heats water molecules in the skin to around 55 C (130 degrees Fahrenheit), causing an intensely painful burning sensation. A spokesman for the Air Force Research Laboratory described his experience as a test subject for the system: "For the first millisecond, it just felt like the skin was warming up. Then it got warmer and warmer and you felt like it was on fire.... As soon as you're away from that beam your skin returns to normal and there is no pain."...

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