Could you use amplitude modulated microwaves to disable a bad guy?
Picture this: A robber enters a restaurant, swings a pistol around and demands money.
Secreted in the ceiling of the dining room is a microwave transmitter equipped with a parabolic dish that can be aimed to cover any portion of the eating area.
The manager, monitoring the situation from his office, aims the transmitter at the robber, dials in an appropriate power level and pushes the 'go' button. The pulses of microwave power mimic and disrupt normal brain activity through calcium efflux, paralyzing the bad guy until police arrive.
The science appears solid. Have a look at:
Adey, W. Ross, Neurophysiologic Effects of Radiofrequency and Microwave Radiation, Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, V.55, #11, December,
1979Bioelectromagnetics Volume 5 Issue 1, Pages 71 - 78 Published Online: 19 Oct 2005
As the article states, one wouldn't need a lot of power. In the cited experiment, 1 mW/g was sufficient to induce calcium ion efflux in human neuroblastoma cells.
The transmitter could pay for itself in no time even if no robber appears:
- Defusing altercations between customers and wait staff
- Tailoring the customer demographic
- Providing entertainment for bored management
- Exploiting induced suggestibility to enhance performance feedback
There are some downsides such as eye cataracts, an increase in susceptibility to leukemia and bacterial brain damage due to violations of the blood/brain barrier. Those are hardly important when you consider how funny it would be to watch random customers stand there, gobsmacked as you rearrange their brain from the comfort of your office.
What do you think about this?
Thanks
--Winston