Sweeping stun guns to target crowds

New Scientist ^ | 6/16/04 | David Hambling

[LibWhacker]

Weapons that can incapacitate crowds of people by sweeping a lightning-like beam of electricity across them are being readied for sale to military and police forces in the US and Europe.

At present, commercial stun guns target one person at a time, and work only at close quarters. The new breed of non-lethal weapons can be used on many people at once and operate over far greater distances.

But human rights groups are appalled by the fact that no independent safety tests have been carried out, and by their potential for indiscriminate use.

Taser success rates by distance

The weapons are designed to address the perceived shortcomings of the Taser, the electric-shock gun already used by 4000 police departments in the US and undergoing trials with some police forces in the UK.

It hits the victim with two darts that trail current-carrying wires, which limit its range to a maximum of seven metres (see graphic). As a single shot, short-range weapon, the Taser is of little use in crowd control. And Tasers have no effect on vehicles.

Ionised gas

These limitations are beginning to be overcome. Engineers working for the US Department of Defense's research division, DARPA, and defence companies in Europe have been working out how to create an electrically conductive path between a gun and a target without using wires.

A weapon under development by Rheinmetall, based in Dorf, Germany, creates a conducting channel by using a small explosive charge to squirt a stream of tiny conductive fibres through the air at the victim (New Scientist print edition, 24 May 2003).

Meanwhile, Xtreme Alternative Defense Systems (XADS), based in Anderson, Indiana, will be one of the first companies to market another type of wireless weapon. Instead of using fibres, the $9000 Close Quarters Shock Rifle projects an ionised gas, or plasma, towards the target, producing a conducting channel. It will also interfere with electronic ignition systems and stop vehicles.

"We will be able to fire a stream of electricity like water out of a hose at one or many targets in a single sweep," claims XADS president Peter Bitar.

Solid-state lasers

The gun has been designed for the US Marine Corps to use for crowd control and security purposes and is due out in 2005. It is based on early, unwieldy technology and has a range of only three metres, but an operator can debilitate multiple targets by sweeping it across them for "as long as there is an input power source," says Bitar.

XADS is also planning a more advanced weapon which it hopes will have a range of 100 metres or more. Instead of firing ionised gas, it will probably use a powerful laser to ionise the air itself. The idea has been around for decades, says LaVerne Schlie, a laser expert at the US Air Force Research Lab in Kirtland, New Mexico. It has only become practical with advances in high-power solid-state lasers.

"Before, it took a laser about the size of two trucks," says Schlie. "Now we can do it with something that fits on a tabletop."

The laser pulse must be very intense, but can be brief. So the makers of the weapons plan to use a UV laser to fire a 5-joule pulse lasting just 0.4 picoseconds - equating to a momentary power of more than 10 million megawatts.

This intense pulse - which is said not to harm the eyes - ionises the air, producing long, thread-like filaments of glowing plasma that can be sustained by repeating the pulse every few milliseconds. This plasma channel is then used to deliver a shock to the victims similar to a Taser's 50,000-volt, 26-watt shock.

Instrument of torture

HSV Technologies of San Diego, California is also working on stun and vehicle-stopping shock weapons with ranges of over 100 metres. And another company, Ionatron of Tuscon, Arizona, is due to supply a prototype wireless vehicle-mounted weapon to the US Department of Defense by the end of 2004.

But the advent of wireless stun weapons has horrified human rights groups. Robin Coupland of the Red Cross says they risk becoming a new instrument of torture. And Brian Wood of Amnesty International says the long-range stun guns could "inflict pain and other suffering on innocent bystanders".

And there are safety concerns. Of the 30,000 times US police officers have fired Tasers, in 40 instances people stunned by them later died. The deaths have been attributed to factors such as overdoses of drugs and alcohol, or fighting with officers, rather than the electric shock.

In a statement, Taser International chief Rick Smith said: "In every single case the medical examiner has attributed the direct cause of death to causes other than the Taser." Amnesty is not convinced, however, and wants an independent study of the effects of all existing and emerging electric-shock weapons.

[shaggy eel]

ping

[GSlob]

Maybe one should try to attack the problem from psychological side rather than its physical incapacitation aspect:
Imagine a regular water cannon (slightly modified - more powerful centrifugal pump and larger diameter piping leading to the standard nozzle) connected to a large septic tank. If there is enough pressure, one could easily reach 200-300', work the crowd in fan-like fashion from a single point, and even knock over the more persistent perpetrators at close range. Picking the perps later, though, would be an unpleasant chore.

[maica]

NYC, near the convention came immediately to mind as a test site.

[Myrddin]

HSV demonstrated their unit in San Diego in 2000. The device uses a pair of ultraviolet lasers to make an ionized gas path to the target. A high, AC voltage is applied that causes the voluntary skeletal muscles to seize, but has no effect on smooth muscle tissue in the heart and diaphragm. The target is immobilized. It doesn't work well with heavy clothing. The laser needs to penetrate to the skin to get the job done. The 2000 model required a truck to carry the power supplies. The 2004 version fits in a carry-on suitcase. Handheld models are anticipated as the laser technology improves.

[TLI]

HUH? This intense pulse - which is said not to harm the eyes -

So the makers of the weapons plan to use a UV laser to fire a 5-joule pulse lasting just 0.4 picoseconds - equating to a momentary power of more than 10 million megawatts.

Uhhhh, I use class IIIb Lasers and they are .05 to .5 watt and CAN harm your eyes..

a quote

"""Class IIIb lasers are intermediate power (c.w. 5-500 mW or pulsed 10 J/cm²) devices. Some examples of Class IIIb laser uses are spectrometry, stereolithography, and entertainment light shows. Direct viewing of the Class IIIb laser beam is hazardous to the eye and diffuse reflections of the beam can also be hazardous to the eye. Do not view the Class IIIb laser beam directly. Do not view a Class IIIb laser beam with telescopic devices; this amplifies the problem. Whenever occupying a laser controlled area, wear the proper eye protection. Refer to the University of Kentucky Laser Safety Manual for complete instructions on the safety requirements for Class IIIb laser use."""

http://ehs.uky.edu/radiation/laser_fs.html

10 Million MEGAWATTS????

[henderson field]

We need a new body of law that protects citizens from the government.

[PetroniusMaximus]

***I am still waiting for flying cars!***

It can be your's....!

http://www.moller.com/skycar/m150/

[babygene]

You can make your own...

Here's the real deal. Think of it as a large water pistol. A water nozzle on a swivel (kind of like a lawn sprinkler, only bigger.)

Mount this on your jeep or pickup truck. You need a pressure tank (connected to the truck) that holds water that can be pressurized with a co2 cylinder (with a regulator).

You might want to add a small amount of polyethylene oxide (1) to the water to keep it from forming into droplets. This chemical also makes the water slightly more conductive.
( (1) you can put almost anything in the water just to make it conductive... dirt, salt, baking soda, vinegar etc.)

One side of a large neon transformer goes to the chassis of the truck through a large value resistor (to keep from killing people). You can shoot some varmits to check the "stun" level.

The other side of the transformer goes to a chain that is isolated from the truck and the other end dangles on the ground.

You can stand in the back of the pickup and aim your electric water cannon without getting shocked, or you can aim it remotely from the cab with servos.

There you have it, make sure you don't lean against the truck when it's turned on! Less than $100 if you can get the neon transformer used. (of course you need a ac inverter from radio shack to run the transformer)

[txhurl]

What about people with pacemakers?

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

"However, if someone were to fart at the same time as the impact the resulting explosion could prove lethal..."

[isthisnickcool]

You scare me. I like that!

[TYVets]

What about people with pacemakers?

A very good question, with more and more people walking around with pacemakers installed.

[doug from upland]

Yep, that is what I had in mind.

[VaBthang4]

Outstanding....coming to a Falujah near you.

[bunkerhill7]

Homeland Security is looking for a device to detect suicide bombers- forget detection- this would detonate them!

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Reminds me of an old cartoon about 40 years ago.
Several men are sitting in the outer office of the Patent office talking about their inventions.

One man says this about his invention;
"It moves electricity without wires."
He presses a button and the man across the room gets zapped and goes straight up in the air.

Another cartoon by Charles Addams is also in a patent office.
The patent officer is testing a "DEATH RAY" by firing it out the window.
He turns to the inventor and says;
"Death ray my eye! It didn't even slow them down!"

Not bad for forty years ago!

All of a sudden I feel old!

[TLI]

We need a new body of law that protects citizens from the government.

We have that now. It is called The Second Amendment to the Constitution. The Constitution indicates that the Second Amendment is activated by what ever currently existing administration declares it void.

Handy, eh?

[Cultural Jihad]

hmmmmmmm. Must mean they prefer the police have no weapons at all. That makes a lot of sense.

The militia nutcase yahoos would decry the advent of this technology in the hands of the police unless the anarcho-mobs have them, too, supposedly.

[sinkspur]

What about people with pacemakers?
A very good question, with more and more people walking around with pacemakers installed.

If you've got a pacemaker, stay out of trouble and away from riots.

[txhurl]

Right.

Wait'll the first pacemaker wearer gets zapped with this application. Can you say phen-phen?