Phasers set to stun: real life catches up to Star Trek

[Abin Sur]

http://www.hsvti.com/

HSV Technologies Inc., formerly of San Diego, California is developing a non-lethal weapon that uses ultraviolet laser beams to harmlessly immobilize people and animals at a distance. The Phaser-like device uses two beams of UV radiation to ionize paths in the air along which electrical current is conducted to and from the target. In effect, the beams create wires through the atmosphere wherever they are pointed.

The current within these beams is a close replication of the neuro-electric impulses that control skeletal muscles. It is imperceptible to the target person because it differs from his own neural impulses only in that its repetition rate is sufficiently rapid to tetanize muscle tissue. (Tetanization is the stimulation of muscle fibers at a frequency which merges their individual contractions into a single sustained contraction.)

No retinal damage can occur because the cornea absorbs all ultraviolet radiation at the wavelengths used. Moreover, the beams are too weak to produce photokeratitis (corneal inflammation) unless they are directed at the eyes for several minutes. In addition, the current they transmit is insufficient to affect the muscles of the heart and diaphragm.
See Ocular Safety of the Tetanizing Beam Weapon

Our electrical beam weapon has a far longer potential range than its nearest competitor, the wire-based Taser® .

Successful proof-of-principle tests have been performed at the University of California at San Diego, and further refinements using novel laser designs are forthcoming.

Although the smallest laser now available for this application is the size of a carry-on suitcase, a hand-held version should become feasible with only modest advances in laser technology.

Also under development is an engine-disabling variation for use against the electronic ignitions of automobiles. The engine-disabling version should be able to operate with off-the-shelf lasers because it would be carried aboard police patrol cars and helicopters.

[izquierdista]

1. Stupid cops....

....will figure out how to make it lethal. If they have to end up using it to smash the skulls of their immobilized victims.

[DJ13]

2. Its a shame its the weapons of Sci Fi that always become reality first

[WonderGrunion]

12. In fairness the star trek communicator was replicated first

by the Motorola RAZR

[Kennah]

16. 3.5" floppy came first

[HopeHoops]

18. No - the original Motorola Flip Phone - I still have one.

It was damn near identical to Kirk's "communicator".

[tblue37]

23. According to an article I read a couple of weeks ago, even the iPad

had its prototype on Star Trek.

[MADem]

3. Fascinating!

I'm not enamored of the idea of stun guns, but I think they're probably a damn sight better than the ones with the bullets that kill people, particularly when someone is simply acting a bit crazy.

It is distressing for everyone when a police officer resorts to lethal force, and it is justified based on the threat, but he and everyone else knows that there might have been a better way.

Maybe this is the better way? Of course, the problem will always be a potential for "abuse of authority."

They'll probably need to build in a video camera on the thing--or in the cop's hat or badge!

[Quartermass]

4. Easily averted by glasses. especially highly reflective ones. HA!

[L0oniX]

5. Tin foil hats will be back in style.

[SpiralHawk]

6. Just wait till the phaser beams meet the patented ReflectoSaucer

DoublePlusUnThink.

[gtar100]

7. I have three reactions to this: 1) Very cool; 2) Sure these will only be used for good; they would

never be used by the police or military for the wrong purpose or wrong reasons ( ); and 3) Will we ever be able to replicate the *real* vision of Star Trek, which is a world free of poverty and want and endless opportunity for any and all who are only willing to put in the time to make it happen.

Star Trek envisions a future in which we live in a clean and healthy environment, have a military/security organization that has the utmost respect for the principles of peace and freedom, a health care system that is open to all for any need at any cost with no monetary recompense required from patients, and a justice system that respects to the core the rights of the individual and the needs of the community. In other words, it envisions a world in which all humans can thrive and we no longer threaten our own existence by the choices available to us each and every day.

Now making that happen would truly impress me. The toys would be extra perks.

[SpiralHawk]

9. TetraDittoes on the Eternal Endeavor to Realize Point #3

[Abin Sur]

11. Star Trek is indeed a utopia...which is why (among other reasons) Babylon 5 was such a better show.

Babylon 5 had a future in which there was crushing poverty, thriving religions, military/security organizations (EarthGov, Nightwatch, and the Psi Corps) which were morally ambiguous at best and horribly oppressive at worst, and was full of complex, flawed individuals.

In other words, it was realistic.

[gtar100]

19. Yes, Babylon 5 was indeed all that. I suspect if we do by some good fortune survive our

self-destructive tendencies, reaching out into the stars will be more like Babylon 5. Still, how can one know an ideal if it is never expressed, never given form. And to be fair to Star Trek, it is not all utopia, except that generally the good guys do win in the end. And when they don't, it's a lesson in principle. I'm glad we have both stories to fuel our imaginations.

[Abin Sur]

20. I'm starting to feel that the "Mundane SF" movement is the most realistic assessment of the future.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mundane_SF

The central ideas of Mundane SF are:

That interstellar travel remains unlikely; that warp drives, worm holes, and other forms of faster-than-light travel are wish fulfillment fantasies rather than serious speculation about a possible future.

That unfounded speculation about interstellar travel can lead to an illusion of a universe abundant with worlds as hospitable to life as this Earth. This is also viewed as unlikely.

That this dream of abundance can encourage a wasteful attitude to the abundance that is here on Earth.

That there is no evidence whatsoever of intelligences elsewhere in the universe. That absence of evidence is not evidence of absence -- however, it is considered unlikely that alien intelligences will overcome the physical constraints on interstellar travel any better than we can.

That interstellar trade (and colonization, war, federations, etc.) is therefore highly unlikely.

That communication with alien intelligences over such vast distances will be vexed by: the enormous time lag in exchange of messages and the likelihood of enormous and probably currently unimaginable differences between us and aliens.

That there is no present evidence whatsoever that quantum uncertainty has any effect at the macro level and that therefore it is highly unlikely that there are whole alternative universes to be visited.

That therefore our most likely future is on this planet and within this solar system, and that it is highly unlikely that intelligent life survives elsewhere in this solar system. Any contact with aliens is likely to be tenuous, and unprofitable.

That the most likely future is one in which we only have ourselves and this planet.

This doesn't make mundane SF more entertaining to read or watch...quite the opposite, in most cases. But it does seem far more likely than Star Trek or Babylon 5.

[gtar100]

21. Culturally, we have gotten so used to living on credit that imagining we can leave the earth

to live among the stars may just be another excuse for many to not care for the one true source of our lives - the earth. It's no different than following a religion that convinces its faithful that *real* life begins after death and that life here on earth belongs to the devil. What sense of concern could this possibly engender for life and the environment that makes it possible?

I never heard of 'mundane SF'. Very interesting, and I think you're correct that it's far more likely that is the future we should be planning for.

[Abin Sur]

22. Bear in mind that there's a *lot* of resources in the Solar System.

Even under the constraints of Mundane SF, we're not restricted to the Earth. Between the asteroid belt, Kuiper Belt, and Oort cloud there are enormous resources out there to be exploited.

(forget the planets, gravity wells make them far harder to utilize).

Also, there's nothing to prevent us from eventually spreading out to nearby solar systems. It would take centuries more technology & engineering, but it wouldn't break the laws of physics.

[Fire Walk With Me]

8. The heart operates on electrical impulses.

I cannot possibly see how this could go wrong.

[Rochester]

10. Horrifying! Time to scotch this in the egg now.

I cannot see that these monstrosities are being invented for any other reason than for use against people who think like you and me. The pigs, who are only servants of the 1% and defenders of the 1%'s money, property, ideology, etc. will only be too happy to use them against the rest of us, and the outrage will be muted because so many people will be satisfied with the explanation "It didn't do any permanent damage", as they are today. As more "toys" like this are invented, so do the abilities increase, and the costs decrease, of the pigs to control the rest of us.
The R's constantly accuse us of taxing and regulating businesses out of existence. Let's make them right in this case.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

13. Plus, if they don't use them, they go stale!

The more you arm the police, the mre they use their arms.

[Confusious]

17. Really? You can't even see them being used against criminals?

Oh, and as far as them being the defenders of the 1%, they showed up pretty fast when a little druggie pumped 7 bullets into my apartment.

And I'm no where near being 1%. I had to get state help to pay the bills.

The real defenders are sitting in Washington. If the politicians told them to arrest everyone on wall street, they would.

But the politicians haven't, have they?

[SaintPete]

24. "scotch this in the egg"

I have to make a point of borrowing that phrase sometime within the near future

[nebenaube]

14. that is actually an old patent...

All it takes is the correct crystal and bam, blue ray is ultra-violet.

[Bombero1956]

15. my first thought at reading this story was

quick somebody invent personal shields.