 |
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)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion (Back On) ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Weapon ")
TrackingPoint Smart Rifle
Not your typical 'smart bullet' approach.
Navy Shoots Down Drone, With Help From Dr. Benton Quest
Okay, so maybe it's not quite a parapower ray gun - but it works, in the real world.
DARPA's Upward Falling Payload Like Leinster's Wabbler
'The Wabbler plunged into the water... It dived swiftly... slowly, it settled downward.'- Murray Leinster, 1942.
Arafat Poisoned With Polonium?
'"This man was poisoned with a super-powerful radium salt," Rab Crane declared...'- Edmond Hamilton, 1938.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Current News
MIT Robot Cheetah Video Shows Gait Transition
'The legs are long, curled way up to deliver power, like a cheetah's.'
TrackingPoint Smart Rifle
Not your typical 'smart bullet' approach.
'Hello, Computer!' Google Now Highlighted at IO13
'Hello, computer!'
Sky City's 220 Stories Are Go
'It rested among green parklands and... stood in total isolation, a glittering block of whites and flashing windows dotted with colors.'
CARMAT Bioprosthetic Total Human Heart Replacement
'George Walt's corporate existence proved the workability of wholly mechanical organs...'
Personal Sniffer Robots
'...The ticking combinations of the olfactory system of the hound.'
Physical Exam? We've Got Apps
See the future of handheld, personal medical devices.
The Interplanetary Internet, Vint Cerf Speaking
'This was the center of Interplanetary Communications.'
Drosophila Robotica, The Mechanical Fly
'... the Scarab [flying robot] buzzed into the great workroom as any intruding insect might...'
Robo-Raven Flapping Wing Robot Bird
'When he had first built them, they had been crude indeed, flying mechanisms with little more than a reflex-response unit.'
Japan's Nursing Home Robot Plan
Let's make the Roujin Z-0001 Robotic Bed!
Samsung Smart TVs With Gesture Control
'He waved his hand and the circuit switched abruptly.'
Swiss HCPVT Giant Photovoltaic 'Flower'
'...leaning against one of the slender stalks of a sunshade-photocell collector.'
Mini-Livers Made By 3D Printer
Organleggers may experience an employment downturn.
Smartphone Sensor System Tracks Gunfire
'Sound trackers on the roof could zero in on weapons action...'
Bacteria Now Make Biofuel Like Oil
'They have ... germs that eat pretty near anything, and produce oil as a waste product.'
