Wade Smith, deputy director of this program for Raytheon, has voluntarily felt the beam during testing. "This is an effect that literally gets under your skin," said Smith, "I can assure you, once you come in contact with the beam, you will be inclined to stop whatever you are doing."
Active Denial Technology uses a transmitter to send a tight beam of 95-Ghz millimeter waves; the energy reaches the subject and penetrates less than 1/64th of an inch into the skin. A two-second burst can heat the skin to a temperature of 130 degrees Fahrenheit. The sensation is like that experienced when touching an ordinary light bulb; the flesh does not burn, however, because of the low levels of energy used. Exposure of at least 250 seconds would be required before burns would result.
