Army Creates a Directed Lightning Bolt Weapon

Sparticus789 writes "Army researchers at Picatinny Labs in New Jersey have developed a prototype weapon which uses a directed lightning bolt to destroy vehicles and unexploded ordinance. The weapon works on the premise that 'A target, an enemy vehicle or even some types of unexploded ordnance, would be a better conductor than the ground it sits on.' Are we one step closer to C&C:Red Alert Tesla coils?"

lightning to stop cars ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Does NOT work. the car would not be affected enough by that.

Resonant fields

[hoboroadie]

This is what I got into science for.

Skin Effect Anyone?

[triffid_98]

With all apologies to Nikola and his 'Death Ray', wouldn't the skin effect of ultra high voltage used for these kind of arcs make this totally useless as a weapon? The bits you want to zap are inside the external metal casing. They are not the easiest path to ground, therefore they are not getting any significant juice.

Re:They've been trying this for years

[PolygamousRanchKid]

And yet the story keeps coming back.

Yes, it comes back every time the research project funding comes up for renewal.

"Shock" (ha ha) and definitely AWE

[wisebabo]

I don't know how practical a weapon this would be in a military engagement (like with other guys shooting back at you) but in a situation where you needed to scare the bejeezes out of some people (like a riot or maybe a hostage situation) I can definitely see it being useful.

I mean most weapons (flamethrowers excepted) are pretty hard to see (not hear). You can see the flash of muzzles and maybe the pitting of concrete from near misses but other than getting hit you wouldn't know how close they were to you.

THIS on the other hand would be a terrifying weapon. Like a thunderbolt thrown at you, the flash would probably blind you for a few seconds and the clap of thunder make you deaf. People would just start running unless they dropped dead due to a heart attack! Think of it as god's version of a taser.

It reminds me of that lightning weapon used in "District 9". Don't know if it's powerful enough to make people literally explode.

Re:The army's budget

[Kupfernigk]

As Max Hastings (UK military historian) observes, the problem with the US military is that they imagine that a sufficiently large and advanced weapon will bring a war to an end quickly. The Manhattan project reinforced this mindset, although the conventional bombing of Japan was more lethal than the atom bombing, and it may merely have provided a pretext for the Emperor to rule that the war should end. Since WW2, the approach hasn't worked. But generals and military bureaucrats are always trying to fight the last big war over again.

religious wars

[harvey the nerd]

DoD and Homeland Sec wet dream. Might work better in more backwards areas - Wrath of God, "wrong side" and such for govt enemies.

Re:it's "Ordnance"

[geogob]

It may be so, but in 2012 ordinance and ordnance have distinct definition and you should use one in the context of the other. This distinction is in use since the 15th century and has been accepted in every English dictionaries I know. But it is absolutely correct that some ordinance may cause more harm than some ordnance.

Re:lightning to stop cars ?

[Rei]

One, Top Gear is an entertainment show and should not be relied on as a source of facts, and two, humans cannot produce artificial lightning with the intensity of normal lightning.

That said, that doesn't necessarily mean that the conclusion is wrong, but...