Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Does That Make Disco Balls WMDs?

USA Today has an interesting little blurb about a new weapon being developed for homeland security types. It's a non-lethal weapon designed to blind, stun, or otherwise incapacitate bad guys by emitting "a dazzling strobe." Like so:

The device works by temporarily blinding and disorienting a person, says Bob Lieberman, president of Intelligent Optical. Once aimed at someone's eyes, a series of light pulses and colors can be triggered and the subject's eyes can't adjust quickly enough to see.

'It's like someone shooting off a flashbulb in your face every few seconds,' Lieberman says. 'Because of the wavelengths and frequencies we use, there are psychophysical effects — a real disorientation. The reaction can range through vertigo to nausea.'
In other words, it's like pointing a Japanese cartoon at them.

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