Australia, 3/12/04 Baby screams to fight Al Qaeda
By staff writers
March 12, 2004
AMERICAN soldiers in Iraq will this month be armed with a stun gun that uses a baby's high-pitched scream to bring enemies to their knees.
The "Secret Scream" gun fires sonic "bolts" across distances as far as 300m at up to 145db, with results ranging from excruciating agony to permanent deafness - or even death after a prolonged burst.
Sonic boom: Troops in Afghanistan may no longer need explosives to flush out the enemy / AFP
The weapon consists of a large megaphone on an armoured vehicle, aimed by a computer. It will be used to control rioters and target gunmen.
The Pentagon reportedly made an order for a prototype of similar weapons last July.
They visited American Technology Corporation, run by Woody Norris, who is a pioneer in ultrasound technology.
"(For) most people, even if they plug their ears, it will produce the equivalent of an instant migraine. Some people, it will knock them on their knees," he said.
The device emits so-called "sonic bullets" along a narrow, intense beam up to 145 decibels, 50 times the human threshold of pain.
The baby scream can be projected at such high levels that it can literally leave a victim's skull vibrating, Mr Norris claims.
The pioneering aspect of Mr Norris's work is based on the direct path his sonic bullets take. Previous attempts to create such a weapon proved difficult because sound travelled in all directions, harming bystanders near to any specific target.
US defence department officials are reportedly keen on the weapon in the hunt for al-Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan.
With sound ricocheting in their tight cave hideouts, experts believe terrorists fighting US forces would be flushed out quickly.
Marine Colonel Peter Dotto told the American ABC network: "They would have to come out and they probably would come out with their hands over their ears so they would be very easy to subdue at that point."
The technology developed by Norris could also be picked up by retail companies hoping to sell their products.
Sounds such soft drinks being poured over ice could be directed at passers by to subliminally make them feel like a drink. It could also be used in home entertainment to direct television or hi-fi sounds away from those in the house not wishing to be disturbed.
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