If this doesnt scare the crap out of you, nothing will. THE GOODBYE WEAPON

[BigBearJohn]

By David Hambling| Also by this reporter
02:00 AM Dec, 05, 2006

The crowd is getting ugly. Soldiers roll up in a Hummer. Suddenly, the whole right half of your body is screaming in agony. You feel like you've been dipped in molten lava. You almost faint from shock and pain, but instead you stumble backwards -- and then start running. To your surprise, everyone else is running too. In a few seconds, the street is completely empty.

You've just been hit with a new nonlethal weapon that has been certified for use in Iraq -- even though critics argue there may be unforeseen effects.

According to documents obtained for Wired News under federal sunshine laws, the Air Force's Active Denial System, or ADS, has been certified safe after lengthy tests by military scientists in the lab and in war games.

The ADS shoots a beam of millimeters waves, which are longer in wavelength than x-rays but shorter than microwaves -- 94 GHz (= 3 mm wavelength) compared to 2.45 GHz (= 12 cm wavelength) in a standard microwave oven.

The beam produces what experimenters call the "Goodbye effect," or "prompt and highly motivated escape behavior." In human tests, most subjects reached their pain threshold within 3 seconds, and none of the subjects could endure more than 5 seconds

SOURCE: http://www.rawstory.com/showoutarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fnews%2Ftechnology%2F0%2C72134-0.html%3Ftw%3Dwn_index_1

[wtmusic]

1. Seems that a well-placed sniper round would shut this thing down

pretty fast.

[karash]

2. .

Yes, but it won't be used where there are snipers, it will be used to prevent unwanted, peaceful public gatherings in domestic situations.

[Vexatious Ape]

5. They'll be using it at G-8 Summits soon, no doubt.

And the Republican Party Convention of course--off to the "free speech zone" with you or else.

[TheDebbieDee]

3. Didn't read the Rawstory article.......

but it sounds like the loud sound-emitting device that could be used to control crowds and put down riots.......

[Dr.Phool]

7. More like a microwave oven.

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72134-0.html?tw=wn_index_1

(snip)

The ADS shoots a beam of millimeters waves, which are longer in wavelength than x-rays but shorter than microwaves -- 94 GHz (= 3 mm wavelength) compared to 2.45 GHz (= 12 cm wavelength) in a standard microwave oven.

The longer waves are thought to limit the effects of the radiation. If used properly, ADS will produce no lasting adverse affects, the military argues.

Documents acquired for Wired News using the Freedom of Information Act claim that most of the radiation (83 percent) is instantly absorbed by the top layer of the skin, heating it rapidly.

(snip)

[everythingsxen]

4. *shudder*

I would be interested in being a guinea pig for this thing though. I have a pretty ridiculously high pain tolerance and would like to see if I could break the 5 second record.

[Wonk]

Dupe thread, fyi

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2868273&mesg_id=2868273

Also, the other thread links direct to the WIRED article, instead of to rawstory's mirror of it, fwiw.

[pepperbear]

6. Asimov saw it coming...

This is from one of the comments: It's about a fictional weapon called the "neuronic whip"

And then the guard's gurgle dissolved into words. He yelled, 'I'll get you all!' and the very pale, almost invisible shimmer of the ionized air in the path of the whip's energy beam made its appearance. It swept wide through the air, and the path of the beam intersected Biron's foot. It was as though he had stepped into a bath of boiling lead. Or as if a granite block had toppled upon it. Or as if it had been crunched off by a shark. Actually, nothing had happened to it physically. It was only that the nerve endings that governed the sensation of pain had been universally and maximally stimulated. Boiling lead could have done no more.

WOW!

[ConsAreLiars]

8. "Pain Compliance"

It has been the method of choice for despots since Vlad the Impaler, and before then. And, more recently, against those who have stood against the WTO and G-8 Summits. Torture, but on a mass scale, applied by the elites against those who frighten them.

(edit to change one word)

[silverojo]

9. This is old news

Protesters in America are going to get hit with these, too. So who wants to volunteer to take to the streets and demand impeachment?

That's just what Bush is banking on, folks.

[Cobalt-60]

10. Perhaps a shiny suit

Protesters need to be attired like Liberace to reflect microwaves.