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Inertial Capacitive Incapacitor: HomeSec Does Verne
Physical Optics Corporation is taking a page from nineteenth century science fiction writer Jules Verne with its Inertial Capacitive Incapacitor, a non-lethal weapon just like Verne's leyden ball. And Homeland Security wants them.
The new device uses a thin-film charge storage device that is charged during manufacture; it discharges when it strikes the target. It is effectively a Taser without the wires, since it carries its own electrical charge.
In his 1875 science fiction classic 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Jules Verne writes about an undersea hunting expedition using a very unique form of bullet - a Leyden ball:
The Inertial Capacitive Incapacitor can also be incorporated into a ring-shaped aerofoil that can be fired from a standard grenade launcher at low velocity, while still maintaining a flat trajectory for maximum accuracy. This should reduce the impact velocity of the projectile.
See also information about two similar devices, the Piezer and the Lynntech projectile, both under current development, as well as the reference article at New Scientist.
...the balls sent by this gun are not ordinary balls, but little
cases of glass. These glass cases are covered with a case of steel,
and weighted with a pellet of lead; they are real Leyden bottles,
into which the electricity is forced to a very high tension.
With the slightest shock they are discharged, and the animal,
however strong it may be, falls dead.
(Read more about Verne's leyden ball)
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 8/18/2005)
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