IMHO the military is *very* interested in ATCO's HSS ...
ACOUSTIC WEAPONS 'CLOSE TO BECOMING REALITY'
Copyright 1997 The Press Association Limited
Press Association Newsfile
December 7, 1997, Sunday
John von Radowitz, Science Correspondent, PA News
Terrifying noise weapons that can rupture organs, inflict burns, and create bubbles and cavities in human tissue may be just around the corner, an expert has warned. Acoustic weapons are now so highly developed that they could make an appearance at any moment, according to writer William M Arkin. Mr Arkin, an American consultant specialising in the humanitarian impact of weapons and warfare, said three basic types of acoustic weapon were now under scrutiny by the US Army and Air Force. These were a close-range "rifle", a longer-range vehicle or helicopter-mounted system, and an air-dropped acoustic "mine". Studies had shown that such weapons could not only produce extreme pain but cause permanent damage and even death. Writing in the quarterly journal Medicine, Conflict and Survival, Mr Arkin said: "Acoustic weapons could be the next new major weapon to be deployed based upon 'novel' and heretofore unapplied physical principles in warfare. "In the US, the research and technologies are far enough along for deployment to be imminent." About 20 US government laboratories and military commands were involved in acoustic weapon development, contracting with half-a-dozen private companies. Mr Arkin cited reports on the performance of acoustic weapons from one of the two leading contractors, Scientific Applications & Research Associates Inc (Sara), of Huntington Beach, California. A high-power weapon would radiate a directed energy beam to "induce severe incapacitation (and if necessary, lethality), within a specified/designated area". The intensity could vary from a 90 to 120 decibel low-frequency soundwave "to provide extreme levels of annoyance and distraction", through 140 to 150 decibels for "strong physical bodily trauma and damage to tissues", to "shockwave" levels at more than 170 decibels. At this intensity, an acoustic weapon could produce "instantaneous blastwave-type trauma" and lethal effects. Very low frequencies could produce internal haemorrhaging and spasms while higher frequencies were capable of raising body temperature and burning tissue. At the top end of the frequency scale, cavitation effects and bubbles could result as the structure of human flesh broke down. Blinding laser weapons were banned internationally under Protocol IV of the Inhumane Weapons Convention once their impact was fully understood. Mr Arkin said a "much more sophisticated and fuller understanding" was required of the damage caused by high-power acoustic beams. He suggested that Protocol IV might be the starting point for curbing acoustic weapons. "It is now high time for the humanitarian community to involve itself in the assessment and debate, to capitalise on the precedent of Protocol IV, and to advance even greater humanitarian protections in warfare," he said. Medicine, Conflict and Survival is a journal of the group International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
|
