There is never anything pretty or appealing about what weapons do, even if many of us can't help but think of weapon technology per se as kind of cool (from the elegance of a samurai sword to any impressive explosion). But the worst thing about weapons is, of course, that they maim and kill. And they don't care whether the person maimed or killed really deserves it...they just tear up what ever they are pointed at.
Needless to say, when you are fighting for the hearts and minds of a nation's population while also fighting militants in that country, innocent deaths and even the death of actual combatants (who of course are also sons, brothers, fathers...) leads to continued resentment. So the development of non-lethal weapons is something talked about a lot. Well it seems like the latest is already deployed in Afghanistan but it is unclear if they plan on using it.
I have heard a fair amount of hype about non-lethal weapons. These are weapons that can temporarily incapacitate someone without causing permanent harm. Sound waves, light, tasers, etc. have all been tested for use as non-lethal weapons. Yet still we find ourselves caught in fights that (whether the fight itself is right or wrong) leads to people being maimed and killed.
Seems the military has come up with a new generation of non-lethal weaponry: the somewhat frightening sounding "Heat Ray." Of course for me this conjures up the martian heat ray in War of the Worlds or the cool energy weapon trucks in old Godzilla movies. But the current weapon, which is being deployed in Afghanistan but without a plan for its use just yet, causes a burning sensation but only actually affects the outer layer of skin (which is mostly dead cells anyway). From BBC News:
The Active Denial System (ADS) is a non-lethal weapon designed to disperse violent crowds and repel enemies.
It uses a focused invisible beam that causes an "intolerable heating sensation", but only penetrates the skin to the equivalent of three sheets of paper.
The discomfort causes whoever it's pointed at to immediately start moving away. They often scream but the US military says the chance of injury from the system is 0.1%...
Lt. Col. John Dorrian, a US military spokesperson, says the kit is now in Afghanistan but no decision has yet been made on its use...
The beam produced by the ADS can travel more than 500m (1,640ft) and is seen as an important new way to limit unnecessary deaths and minimise war zone casualties.
Well, it beats high explosives and bullets. From what the diagram on BBC News indicates, the weapon takes advantage of the fact that nerve cells in the skin (the pain receptors) are below the level of dead skin where the heat reaches, but are sensitive enough to register pain before anything but dead skin gets damaged.
Of course, as is usual with military equipment, the name is stupid. I mean "Active Denial System???" What the hell does THAT mean? Doesn't an "Active Denial System" sound like a huge sound system that shouts out "NO!!" to people? Why not just call it a heat ray and be clear about it?