Inventor Creates Soundless Sound System

[The Straight Story]

Inventor Creates Soundless Sound System

POSTED: 9:35 am EDT April 23, 2005

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Elwood "Woody" Norris pointed a metal frequency emitter at one of perhaps 30 people who had come to see his invention. The emitter - an aluminum square - was hooked up by a wire to a CD player. Norris switched on the CD player.

"There's no speaker, but when I point this pad at you, you will hear the waterfall," said the 63-year-old Californian.

And one by one, each person in the audience did, and smiled widely.

Norris' HyperSonic Sound system has won him an award coveted by inventors - the $500,000 annual Lemelson-MIT Prize. It works by sending a focused beam of sound above the range of human hearing. When it lands on you, it seems like sound is coming from inside your head.

Norris said the uses for the technology could come in handy - in cars, in the airport or at home.

http://www.local6.com/news/4409521/detail.html

[htuttle]

1. "Noah. I want you to build an ark..."

When can I get one? I have all sorts of ideas on how to use this thing...

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

2. Where do I get one?

It would be absolutely wonderful for practical jokes.

[The Straight Story]

3. I'll tell you when the voice in my head says I can :) (n/t)

[rolleitreks]

4. Guess Bush won't need a radio link anymore . . .n/t

[IChing]

5. THe Military

is already looking into this as a weapon and are developing one. I saw a demonstration of the device on "the screen savers" when Leo was on (don't watch it now) . The unit is small in comparison to what it can do. Just like any technology can be used for good and evil, this invention can be this too. For home use it would be really cool, I could crank up my stereo late at night and not disturb my neighbors in my units. That is a good application that my neighbors would like also since it is so specifically directional in range and direction.

[KittyWampus]

6. The Potential For Abuse Of This Technology Staggers The Mind

Edit- yes, I know technology is a double edged sword.

But this SCREAMS abuse in so many ways.

[LiberallyInclined]

7. this is a man with some very dangerous ideas-

also from the article:

One of his most recent patents is for the AirScooter, a personal flying machine designed for commuting. It reaches speeds up to 55 mph and is light enough - under 300 pounds - to not require a license to fly.

The AirScooter was also on display at OMSI, although Norris didn't fly it.

The machine has a single seat, a four-stroke engine and is barely 10 feet tall. Its pontoons allow it to land on water. The machine's fiberglass and aluminum construction keeps its weight down. Bike-style handle bars move two helicopter blades, which spin in opposite directions.

Norris' AirScooter was shown on "60 Minutes" last Sunday. He said since the airing of the show, more than 7 million people have visited the AirScooter's Web site...

http://www.airscooter.com/pages/airscooter_main.htm



so- a machine that can make people believe they are hearing the voice of God, and maybe 7 million of those flying thingy's zipping around suburbia.

what a wonderful world it could be...:crazy:

[pie]

8. Under 300 pounds!

That is one dangerous hot little machine.

[LiberallyInclined]

9. It's meant to be used as a 'commuter vehicle'...

can you imagine the chaos of hundreds or even thousands of these things buzzing around?

I always thought that the way that they showed flying cars in The Jetsons and other futuristic-type cartoons was ludicrous- on the ground, people have enough trouble trying to deal with driving pretty much two-dimensionally- how is adding a third dimension going to do anything but make things worse?

[xpat]

10. Could weed a lot of dead wood out of the gene pool. LOL! n/t