US troops are to be armed with a stun gun that uses a baby's high-pitched scream to bring the enemy to its knees.
The gun, which will be issued to marines in Iraq this month, fires "sonic bullets" that can be targeted like a torch beam.
Anyone hit with a full blast would suffer excruciating pain, permanent deafness and some form of cellular damage. A prolonged blast could kill.
The "Secret Scream" gun as it is called, could revolutionise the way US troops deal with snipers, suicide bombers and riots in the turmoil of post-war Iraq.
The actual sound used is a recording of a baby's scream played backwards.
"For most people, even if they plug their ears, it will produce the equivalent of an instant migraine," said Woody Norris, chairman of American Technology Corporation, the Californian company that has produced the weapon.
"It will knock some people to their knees."
Near human pain threshold
While the sound gun will normally be fired at just 110 decibels - a level that causes the human skull to vibrate - it can travel as far as 300 yards at 145 decibels.
The human threshold of pain is usually between 120 and 130 decibels.
Pentagon sources said it would be used in Iraq as an alternative to bullets to break up riots or protests, to stop suspects approaching check points and force snipers from buildings or caves.
The manufacturer tested the gun on volunteers last month.
No one could stand a 110 decibel blast for more than a few seconds.
Previous attempts to use acoustic weapons have failed because the sound travelled in every direction, affecting the operator as well as the enemy.
Individuals can be targeted
But the Secret Scream's ultrasound wave allows the operator to target one or two key individuals in a crowd.
"Tear gas lingers long after you've fired the canisters. This, you switch it off and it's gone," Mr Norris said.
The weapon consists of two parts, a megaphone the size of a commercial satellite dish mounted on an armoured vehicle, and a computerised operating system that aims and controls the sound waves.
There is a smaller version that can be held in the hand, similar to the soundwave gun used by Tom Cruise in the movie Minority Report.
The Secret Scream sends out two ultrasonic waves at different frequencies.
Each set of waves is too high to hear, but they generate audible sound when they overlap. The effect is called "acoustical heterodyning".
Secret Pentagon research
A secret division in the Pentagon has been financing research on futuristic weapons for more than 15 years.
This is the first to go into operation. Retired US marine Colonel Peter Dotto, a weapons consultant, said the gun would be "terrific for repelling suicide bombers and for rousting terrorists from their hideouts".
"Because the sound ricochets in tight, enclosed areas, it would make it very uncomfortable for Al Qaeda terrorists to stay in caves," he said.
"They would have to come out, and they probably would come out with their hands over their ears."
I'm skeptical myself. Hard to believe, really. Some of the science sounds plausible, but backwards baby screams? vibrating skull? bouncing off walls at 110dB? I'm sorry, but I've gone to concerts pushing 160dB and didn't run outcovering my ears from migraine's and vibrating skull. Something doesn't add up. As for the Geneva convention well uhh.. it IS a WEAPON. You would rather kill the person with a hollow tipped lead round than discomfort them into submission? A little deafness is a far cry from dead. Anyway, I'll believe it when somebody shoots me with it
Actaully sean in a concert the sound is dissasipated around the hall or anything where it is going. But as mark said the weapon will be concentrated on single individual. So the effect of sound will be much more. And dont underestimate the effect of sound. Sound has alot of power.
"If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas."
Sean Kelly said this in post #3 : As for the Geneva convention well uhh.. it IS a WEAPON. You would rather kill the person with a hollow tipped lead round than discomfort them into submission? A little deafness is a far cry from dead.
True.... I agree... but by the convention, that is cruel. hence... a no go.
There are 10 types of people in this world. Those who know binary... and those who don't.
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.
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.
it's ok because I can yell louder than any sort of new-fangled scream-gun.
for some odd reason, while the word "Ganya" was still just a thought-dropping in my head, I thought it'd only be four letters. But apparently it's five. yep.
It may not directly kill them, but think about it: a really loud sound that you can focus on someone. You could annoy them to death.
for some odd reason, while the word "Ganya" was still just a thought-dropping in my head, I thought it'd only be four letters. But apparently it's five. yep.
04-03-2004 07:50 PM
