Sound Bullets Inspired By Newton's Cradle Could Sink Subs, Pummel Underground Bunkers, Destroy Tumors

so when can I buy a sonic screwdriver :)

Though having the ability to forgo radiation in CT-like scans and annihilating cancer cells is cool - I am psyched at the possible weapons that controlled sound could make.

When I read about it on Wikipedia, they talked about a number of weapons in both ultrasonic and infrasonic ranges...

...the results would be terrifying.

Imagine a weapon that kills you by:
- resonating your organs
- an ultrasonic gun that can liquefy your tissue
- an device that can collapse buildings w/o explosives (you wouldn't hear it!)
- and many others

The worst part is that it can "travel through air, liquid and solids alike" - even contrete bunkers...so no amount of armor will save you.

Maybe this could be the alternative to using nuclear weapons on Iranian or North Korean underground targets. But it is just as fearsome if not more so.

Before any practical applications, the DoD is sure to make 'sonic bullet' relaying/bouncing devices and/or material

From the linked paper, "Properly adapted to audible sound, the new metamaterial could turn a normal sentence into a split second ear drum rupturing explosion."

My name is a killing word. Muad'Dib Dune.

Ashwood, you're a friggin' genious.

Nice! I could see using this on terrorist safe houses where they are holed up and hard to hit with a bullet. Just send in a sound shock wave to kill or disable them. Very cool.

this might also have applications in fusion i know bubbles when collapsed a certain way briefly have incredible heat, but other than that who knows. new materials could come of this as well, perhaps acoustic batterys or generators.

Not to forget fantastic new speakers :)

Electromagnetic radiation is an awesome field. Your eyes can detect about 400-700 nm bandwith as visible light. Your ears detect 20-20,000 hz band width as audible sound. your skin detects -120 to 212 degrees - but these are such a small scope in the range from gamma to ultra low. Once we are able to detect, use and find an application for each frequency, Science and our capabilities will expand beyond our wildest dreams...

...use it for good.

I too am worked about terrorist. Those rebel scum! According to Geonosians, this kind of weapon also works on Jedi’s.

I wonder how long before Monster starts telling us that gold plated sound bullets are higher quality.

I can see this being used as a weapon for underwater warfare. Torpedoes can be slow and tricked into going for a counter-measure. You really can't trick an energy wave into going for a counter-measure. Plus, the wave travels at the speed of sound (right?), so it's definitely 100 times faster than a torpedo. And, you have virtually unlimited ammo...one US submarine can kill an entire fleet of enemy warships without ever having to reload/re-arm torpedoes.

yay doctor who!!!

however with the advent of a new weapon they always find a way to counter it, probably using those same metamaterials as some kind of armor

any one ever seen the movie dune. in the movie they were messing with a new technoligy that uses sound waves as weapons and they soon take over the world. hmmm I wonder...

Can this be used to generate energy for a positive purpose? Especially in energy starved areas of the world, this could be a great solution to generate electricity, run automobiles, etc etc etc.
-subra

The most important question is when and how the chinese will use it.

this concluds the the thought of light bullets turned solid can kill.but why not just use it to destroy all the dang terriorist

cool about time for some big guns!!!!!

how could this be used for tumors if this is so dangurus if the commpresion is off by a bit the patient would be killed!

I think that one way to "counter" it would be to send another sound bullet towards the first one. This may, or may not work, because as I know, sound can go past each other. If someone were to talk to me, and I would still be talking, the sound wouldn't be countered, it would just go through it, but with the missiles that they use in the military, they fire one at another, and they explode in midair. It may work like that with sound, but I could (probably) be wrong.