Journalist tries out Raytheon's pain-ray weapon: "No sir, I don't like it."

Michael Hanlon of the Daily Mail tries out a table-top demonstration model of Raytheon's pain-ray weapon, dubbed "Silent Guardian." He say it hurts.

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Built by the U.S. firm Raytheon, it is part of its "Directed Energy Solutions" programme.

What it amounts to is a way of making people run away, very fast, without killing or even permanently harming them.

I tested a table-top demonstration model, but here's how it works in the field.

A square transmitter as big as a plasma TV screen is mounted on the back of a Jeep.

When turned on, it emits an invisible, focused beam of radiation – similar to the microwaves in a domestic cooker – that are tuned to a precise frequency to stimulate human nerve endings.

It can throw a wave of agony nearly half a mile.

This tabletop model looks pretty nifty. I can imagine teenaged boys making them and then having contests with their friends to see how long they can endure the pain-ray.
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Previously on Boing Boing:

Pain transmitter to be used for riot control (Thanks, Steve in Paris!)