Sunday, May 26, 2013

The US military's new agony beam weapon - health - 16 May 2013 - New Scientist

Sign in to read: Pain ray: The US military's new agony beam weapon - health - 16 May 2013 - New Scientist
THE pain, when it comes, is unbearable. At first it's comparable to a hairdryer blast on the skin. But within a couple of seconds, most of the body surface feels roasted to an excruciating degree. Nobody has ever resisted it: the deep-rooted instinct to writhe and escape is too strong.
The source of this pain is an entirely new type of weapon, originally developed in secret by the US military – and now ready for use. It is a genuine pain ray, designed to subdue people in war zones, prisons and riots. Its name is Active Denial. In the last decade, no other non-lethal weapon has had as much research and testing, and some $120 million has already been spent on development in the US.
Many want to shelve this pain ray before it is fired for real but the argument is far from cut and dried. Active Denial's supporters ...