1999 Fun Digest-23: The Growing Importance of Non-Lethal Weapons

In 2004, I began to cut out the newspaperS I had read to make newspaper excerpts, and in 1999, the second volume was a re-collection of newspapers from my elementary and junior high school days, and I edited them into volumes.

Increasingly important non-lethal weapons

Several non-lethal weapons.

　　Megaphone

　　The megaphone looks like a giant megaphone, and from its flare mouth you can drill into a medium-sized person. It can emit powerful pulses of up to 150 decibels at frequencies of 2000-3000 Hz. Usually, people can't talk under 110 decibels of noise, people have headaches at 130 decibels, and 150 decibels will cause permanent damage to the hearing organs. Under the "impact" of the high-decibel shockwave, people not far from the megaphone will lose self-control and the ability to identify directions, feel inexplicable panic, dizziness, and nausea. Under close-range conditions, loudspeakers can cause psychological disorders and even damage internal organs. Loudspeakers can be used to protect targets from external damage and, if mounted on warships, prevent small enemy ships from approaching. It can also be used to disperse crowds and create panic. In recent years, new loudspeakers are being developed. One of the research directions is the use of controlled explosives to create high-decibel shock waves. The other direction is to imitate the half-man, half-bird in Greek mythology, making a mesmerizing sound in order to confuse the enemy and disintegrate the opponent's combat effectiveness.

　　Low-energy laser gun

　　Low-energy laser weapons have been successfully developed in the early 1990s and can be used to combat weapon control systems, reconnaissance and communication equipment, and optoelectronic systems, and can also blind enemy forces. Gaseous, solid, and chemical radioactive sources for laser weapons can produce lasers in different wavelength bands. On the battlefield, this laser weapon can be packed in a backpack or transported by car.

　　Some relatively simple weapons have the same function compared to high-intensity lasers. For example, the gunpowder filled with the signal flare can create a low-temperature gas field when ignited. In this principle, light grenades and combined bombs with blinding and vibrating effects were made. The power of their explosion can blind people for 20-30 seconds and lose hearing for 4-6 hours.

　　Like lasers, UHF radiation can paralyze radio electronic reconnaissance, communications, positioning, and control equipment. In addition, UHF weapons can disrupt the work of the human brain and central nervous system, causing people to have tinnitus and hear noises that do not exist. It can also damage a person's internal organs and can be fatal. UHF generators can be dropped into enemy territory with the help of ordinary bombs. At present, the development of such weapons also faces technical obstacles, that is, how to obtain the required intensity of radiation with a certain weight, volume and price device.

　　Thermal energy guns

　　Under the action of low-frequency electromagnetic radiation, the human brain produces chemicals to regulate its own activities. This substance can cause a variety of illnesses that can cause a person to fall asleep in an instant, or, conversely, put people in a state of mania and restlessness for a long time. The "heat gun" can fire a heat energy beam, causing epilepsy-like muscle spasms, it can make the surface temperature of the human body reach more than 40 degrees Celsius in one second, and the unbearable burning pain will make the enemy soldiers scatter and flee. The development of "thermal guns" has been limited for a long time due to its excessive size. Recently, however, its size has been greatly reduced and it has been able to fit into tank turrets and even tactical missiles.

　　Trojan horse program

　　Electronic warfare, an effective way to dismantle the enemy's enemy and cut off its information channels, is carried out through electronic computers (including a growing number of personal computers in the military), and even topographic mapping is now being electronically and digitally digitized.

　　There are three basic means to paralyze the enemy's computer. First, programs that induce mutations are added to weapons, command, and communications system software in advance, and over time, or depending on specific signals, such programs "wake up" and disrupt the work of computers. Therefore, the military's anti-reconnaissance agencies always have to carefully check the computers that the military receives, especially when the giveaways are from abroad. Second, through spy channels or virus infiltration, destroy the enemy's database and software. Third, secretly enter the enemy's network and enter false information. All three means are currently being actively used and perfected.

　　Graphite bombs

　　Modern armies cannot fight without information, and armies that have been cut off from information channels will become isolated and helpless. There are many ways to cut off information, for example, strong electromagnetic radiation can cause overload and frequent short circuits on the enemy power grid, making it irreparably incapacitated. Such weapons were used in the Gulf War in 1991 and the Kosovo War in 1999, and graphite bombs were one of them. Fine graphite wires thrown into the air can short-circuit transmission lines and disable transformers in substations. Graphite can also sometimes be replaced by carbon fibers and gold-plated fibers with good electrical conductivity. Powerful electromagnetic pulses can paralyze electronic devices and erase data information from bank computers. If the electromagnetic pulse is caused by a high-altitude nuclear explosion, the area of influence will be larger, sometimes even covering the entire enemy country. Indeed, such weapons are prohibited under international law. But when a country is at a critical juncture of life and death, who will consider international law? Relatively speaking, non-nuclear electromagnetic pulses are less effective and require the precise delivery of the generator to the target area, which has the advantage of providing more options for action.

　　Bubble bomb

　　It is easier to block infantry than to block car teams, just sprinkle a layer of rapidly condensing foam (the basic ingredient is propionylene) on the person. Powerful foams can produce so many sticky substances in one second that an entire row can be stopped. The foam-covered soldiers were not only unable to move, but also lost their hearing and vision.

　　If foam is not available, it is also possible to sprinkle TRAF powder on key sections of road through which infantry pass, making the pavement smooth as ice. The police can sprinkle the powder on the square where the protesters are to gather, and the car will drive up like a clumsy cow struggling on the ice. Tetrafluoroethylene can stop enemies before important targets, such as bridges and city entrances. At the same time, it can also make it impossible for the enemy to take a step from the base when needed. On the smooth runway strewn with tetrafluoroethylene, planes also can't take off or land. In 1993, the Americans tried a viscous gel in Somalia. Enemy soldiers were glued to the ground, military equipment could not be moved, and some gels could even stick to tanks. But somali soldiers found a response: they laid bamboo chips on dangerous sections of the road and passed through them.

　　Aerosol bombs

　　When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, Afghan guerrillas blocked Soviet mechanized forces by setting up ambushes and raids, causing heavy casualties to the Soviets. Now, without a single shot, the enemy convoy can be stopped. The method is simply to detonate an aerosol bomb and make the chemicals sprinkle all over the road. This chemical is effective against metals, plastics and rubber. It can penetrate and damage the engines of tanks and cars to stop turning; it can also damage rubber products, corrode glass, make water and gasoline gel unusable; it can even make lubricating oil and fuel suddenly thicken and cause the generator to stop. It is also possible to fire metal flakes with special devices to cover the armored vehicle and obscure the driver's field of vision. At the same time, sticky substances are used to "block" the components of the car and the engine in an instant, and combustion inhibitors are used to prevent the combustion of fuel (whether diesel, gasoline or kerosene) and make the engine stop. Aerosol suspension particles, liquids, powders or gels made from super acids can quickly corrode rubber, asphalt and building roofs. For safe preservation, they need to be double-coated with explosive substances, mixed together and exploded at the same time after detonation.

　　Green laser

　　The human eye is more sensitive to green (green appears brighter than other colors). Military experts have used this feature to create green lasers, which produce lasers that can make people dizzy and dizzy, and long-term irradiation can lead to temporary blindness that lasts for hours. The use of lasers by north Korean troops to disorient two U.S. Apache helicopters and blind pilots is believed to be the first example of the use of non-lethal weapons against U.S. forces. Since then, U.S. pilots have begun to wear protective masks.

　　Sound and light weapons

　　Any kind of non-lethal weapon, no matter how delicate and sensitive, is first and foremost a psychological offensive for a soldier. Its fundamental purpose is to destroy the enemy's will to resist. The most effective and promising non-lethal weapon is infrasonic. We know that the human ear cannot hear infrasound waves, but can receive them, just as they would receive instructions that occur naturally in the brain. Infrasound waves are characterized by their attenuation when propagated in the air and can send "sound" to a fairly distant place. Americans have used not only the Voice of God weapon, but also the Face of God. Also in Somalia, in 1993, the U.S. military used a laser device to project a huge statue of Jesus in the sky. At that time, this "miracle" shocked many people, and almost no one could continue to resist. Today, experts have learned to use combination weapons of sound and light. Therefore, it would not be a big surprise if the image of a religious figure appeared over chaotic Iraq and the Iraqi resistance was ordered to lay down their arms. It's easy to replicate the voices of celebrities and political leaders with specialized modulators.

　　Stink bombs

　　Smells can also be weapons. As many neuroscientists think, any smell can cause fear and even panic. If the air is filled with thiol with the smell of feces, people will be hit their sense of smell and will be eager to escape from the polluted place at once. Stink bombs are usually made of sulfur, chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia, but in principle any unpleasant odor can be used, including the smell of rotten food, the smell of socks that have not been washed for a long time, etc. The choice of smell should also take into account the national habits of the enemy and the geographical characteristics of the battlefield, because people of different nationalities react differently to smell. Highly effective anesthetics or hypnotic agents can also be added to the stink bomb, making the person incapacitated or simply unconscious.