Humans have been developing weapons since the first caveman picked up a rock, so it was perhaps inevitable that some of our ideas have been a bit far-fetched. Let's take a look at...
- Rocket Bullets - The Gyrojet Carbine
- Hormonal Warfare - The "Gay Bomb"
- Going for the Eyes - The Gun That Blinds
- Shock and Awe - The Lightning Projector
- Efficient Explosives - The 100% Explosive Bomb
- Engage Cloak - Personal Invisibility Devices
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| Though not an actual bolt, a lightning projector would still be intimidating... (eyeonicimages) |
Rocket Bullets - The Gyrojet Carbine
Most guns operate using a cartridge system. The firing pin hits a primer setting off gunpowder held in a brass casing. The rapid combustion of the powder releases hot gas and generates a huge amount of pressure, launching the bullet from the cartridge. As a consequence, the barrel of the gun experiences high pressure as well, meaning it needs to be pretty heavy to withstand it. The projectile itself loses energy after it leaves the barrel, and has the most energy as it leaves the muzzle.
The gyrojet replaced traditional cartridges with a rocket-propelled bullet. Four angled jets on each projectile would cause it to rotate in flight, mimicking the rifling on a gun barrel. It would gain momentum as long as it was burning fuel, rather than from a single detonation in the barrel. In theory, this would remove the need for a heavy barrel and extend the effective range of the gun - it would be at maximum energy as the fuel ran out mid flight, and would then begin to lose energy like normal ammunition.
Of course, what sounded great on paper failed to perform well in real life. The weapon was deeply inaccurate, cumbersome and had an unacceptable failure rate. That's not to say that the principle wasn't sound - the prototypes given to the US army for testing were hurried in the face of the Vietnam war, and could have used significantly more time in development!
Hormonal Warfare - The "Gay Bomb"
Chemical weapons are horrifying things, causing massive amounts of damage to the unprotected human body. Less lethal options do occur though, such as pepper spray... or the proposed "gay bomb" considered by the US military.
The idea was simple - expose hostile forces to powerful aphrodisiacs, prompting them to engage in sexual behavior with anyone nearby. Given that the only people in close proximity would be their fellow soldiers, this would supposedly result in homosexual behavior and a significant drop in morale after the effects wore off. Unsurprisingly this "love bomb" never made it into development.
As to whether it could work... aphrodisiacs do exist, but much of their effect may be from suggestion rather than chemical action. No scientific study has one capable of the "mind control" this weapon would have required. Trying to administer an effective dose as a gas bomb would require an insane amount, with no guarantee of an effect. Arguably the US air force would have been better off blasting "Frankie Goes to Hollywood" from loudhailers.
Going for the Eyes - The Gun That Blinds
A blind enemy is usually out of the fight - that seems to be the thinking behind a laser rifle being trialed in America.
The Personnel Halting and Stimulation Response of "PHASR" (yes, really) rifle uses non-lethal laser wavelengths to dazzle a target, temporarily blinding them. This has a number of advantages over traditional non-lethal incapacitation methods - as a laser, it can be used at much longer ranges and with much more precision than a taser, beanbag round or pepper spray. Need to take a target alive? Capture a fleeing criminal? This weapon has you covered.
Despite the name, there's nothing sci-fi about this weapon. Anyone who's had a bright light flashed in their eyes at night or looked directly at the sun can tell you this gun would work. One problem exists though - it skirts awfully close to breaking the Geneva Conventions. The convention rules prohibit the use of blinding laser weaponry - developers are hoping that the temporary nature of the blindness will let it off the hook!
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| Blinding weaponry is covered by the Geneva Conventions... (LhcCoutinho) |
Shock and Awe - The Lightning Projector
Why use a projectile when you can strike an enemy with a lightning bolt? The Laser-Induced Plasma Channel aims to do just that.
The device works in two stages - a targeting laser beam and an electrical discharge. The laser ionizes the air it passes through to produce a channel of plasma. This channel can conduct electricity far better better than normal air, and when pointed at a suitable target (i.e. a vehicle, bomb or even a person) a bolt of electricity can leap down the channel between an emitter and the target.
Despite how this sounds, this isn't mad science - functioning prototypes exist. The only question is whether it can outperform traditional projectile weaponry.
Efficient Explosives - The 100% Explosive Bomb
Artillery shells typically explode on impact, throwing out a way of shrapnel as they do. This is devastating enough, but what if the shrapnel itself could be made explosive?
Known as structured reactive materials, the idea is to use explosive materials to form the entire structure of an artillery shell rather than using an inert material. If this is feasible, it could mean a lot more explosive power in the same size and weight of shell.
How viable this is debatable - making a protective casing out of reactive materials certainly isn't intuitive. That said, nanotechnology could allow custom materials that detonate on impact or explosion rather than when the shell is launched.
Engage Cloak - Personal Invisibility Devices
Though popularized by Tolkien, the idea of personal invisibility has existed in legend for centuries. Strategists will tell you that surprise is one of the most useful weapons on the battlefield - and you don't have to be genius to see how useful invisibility would be.
Various techniques have been used to make "invisible" materials - one of the simplest relies on a lenticular lens. This is actually an array of lenses that show a different part of an underlying image depending on where you are viewing from - this technology has already been used in "moving" store displays. It functions like a sheet of "clear" plastic that takes images from the surrounding area and shows those rather than whatever is behind it. Even better, it doesn't require power to function.
This technology is real, though it needs to be refined. Of course, detecting invisible soldiers would be equally important - and researchers have started on the problem. By applying diffraction tomography techniques, scientists in Valencia have already found ways to identify the presence of a "cloaked" entity.
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