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'HPEMS' Means 'STOP' In Cop Speak
High-Power Electromagnetic System (HPEMS) from Eureka Aerospace uses a compact, tunable power source and a high-gain antenna to beam microwave energy in the direction of targeted vehicles.
Incredibly, this emitted energy can bring a speeding vehicle to a halt by inducing strong disabling currents in their ignition and control systems. Here are the future uses that Eureka Aerospace sees for HPEMS:
And now the video:
(High-Power Electromagnetic System (HPEMS) video)
Writer Margaret Rouse had her own science-fictional experience of this technology:
About this time three years ago, we were all excited about being picked to be in a little Steven Spielberg movie called War of the Worlds. The entire village of Athens, New York (town where I live) was transformed to a bustling Hollywood set for about two weeks as crews built a ferry slip, put in fake railroad tracks and brought in lights and generators.The scene they were shooting was the fire train / ferry scene. For five nights from 5pm to 5am we ran down the street towards the ferry, stopped as an imaginary train wizzed by, expressed horror and screamed at the imaginary tripod that rose out of the imaginary mountain behind us. We were pushed and shoved before being killed by an imaginary tripod as it rose out of the Hudson river and tipped over the ferry...
When I finally saw the movie I was disappointed, but the first half of the movie — right up through the ferry scene — was truly Speilberg-worthy. The lightening strikes and the fog horn sound of the tripod as it rose out of the street was scary stuff. In true science-fiction style, the tripods used a known technology — high-power electromagnetic system (HPEMS) — to damage electrical devices and stop traffic.
From Eureka Aerospace via Next Big Future, and IT Knowledge Exchange.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 1/21/2010)
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