Once upon a time: the HSV Non-Lethal Tetanizing Beam Weapon

General Questions:

  • What is the device called?
    • We have referred to it as either the “Non-Lethal Tetanizing Beam Weapon” or the “Anti-Personnel Beam Weapon,” The manufacturers are expected to assign their own brand names.

  • How does it work?
    • It immobilizes people and animals at a distance by tetanizing their skeletal muscles with a weak electrical current.

  • What is tetanization?
    • Tetanization is the stimulation of muscles at a rate high enough to keep them contracted. (Muscles normally relax between the neural or electrical pulses that cause them to contract.)

  • How long does it take to immobilize someone?
    • The effect occurs within a few milliseconds.

  • Is the size and strength of the affected person or animal important?
    • Physical size and strength are not factors except that a very large animal would probably have to be targeted with more than one beam. Being strong does not prevent or reduce the tetanizing effect.

  • Can a tetanized person give that effect to someone else?
    • Tetanization itself cannot be transmitted to other people. However, if each of the beams were touching different people who were in contact with each other, the electrical current could be conducted between them.

  • Wouldn’t it be difficult to move a tetanized person?
    • The effect lasts only a few seconds after the current stops, so the problem of moving an immobile person isn’t likely to occur.

  • Can this weapon work under water?
    • No. The electrical current would be dissipated by the water.

  • Would a person fall when he is tetanized?
    • He would fall only if he were out of balance, because he would have no control over his leg muscles. He would very probably not fall if he were in balance because his leg muscles would be rigid rather than limp.

  • Have you built a prototype?
    • The prototype is being developed for us by a laser manufacturer.

  • How big is it?
    • The prototype is about the size of a carry-on suitcase. In a few years the commercial units should be no larger than a flashlight.

  • Why can’t you make these things as small as a laser pointer?
    • We would if there were any commercially available lasers that emitted at least 50 watts of continuous far-ultraviolet radiation. Such a laser would be small enough, but none have been manufactured.

  • I collect rare weapons. May I buy one of yours?
    • There are no finished units available now and will not be for about two years. Then you should ask one of our licensed manufacturers rather than us, as we are exclusively a research corporation. Even then you could not purchase a functional weapon because they will be sold only to law enforcement and military organizations. However, in a few years you should be able to buy a design model.

  • Why just “immobilize” criminals and terrorists when bullets are cheap?
    • We want law enforcement officers and soldiers to have more options. Not all suspects are dangerous criminals or terrorists.

  • Will these weapons, however non-lethal, affect cardiac pacemakers?
    • We don’t think so, because cardiac pacemakers are well insulated. In addition, the manufacturers are required to perform extensive testing in this regard.

  • What if I wrapped myself in aluminum foil or something like that, would I be immune to being tetanized?
    • First, you would have to be very sure that you didn’t leave any skin uncovered, because the human body is as electrically conductive as a sack of salty water. The current would spread from an uncovered wrist, ankle, or neck to a very wide area. Second, you wouldn’t be protected from the bullets that would likely follow a police officer’s failure to stop you by a more harmless means.

  • Is tetanizing painful?
    • There is no pain whatsoever. In fact, when the rate of electrical pulses is properly adjusted, it is impossible to feel the tetanizing effect.

  • Can you make it painful?
    • Although it is not our intent to inflict pain, if the current were increased and the optimal pulse repetition rate were lowered to 2 or 3 pulses per second, the affected person would feel painful shocks.

  • Suppose a police officer held the beams on someone’s eyes for a long time. Would it hurt?
    • Aside from the fact that conducting the current through a person’s face would not immobilize him, prolonged exposure to the ultraviolet beams would be irritating. For more details please click on the paper “Ocular Safety“.

  • Could you make these weapons lethal?
    • We have no intention of doing so. They were created to save lives, not to take them. Perhaps one of the end-users would do this, but it would be without our knowledge or approval.

  • Would it be dangerous to point it at a storm cloud?
    • As would be true with any good conductor, it would be extremely dangerous to point this device toward a storm cloud.

  • Can I get a job making this ray gun?
    • If you apply to one of the manufacturing companies and are accepted by it.

  • May I participate in this project?
    • That depends upon what you mean by “participate.” If you mean to participate as a target subject, we will not be performing such experiments. If you mean to participate by investing, as a “C” corporation under California law we may not solicit investors. If you mean something else and would like further clarification, you may contact us at question@hsvt.org

  • From what I read in your patent, the current is not much different from what I get by combing my hair. So why does it “tetanize” anyone?
    • The very weak current we use is able to hold the major skeletal muscles contracted because it closely replicates the nerve impulses that control those muscles. That is, the combination of the pulse wave form, the pulse repetition rate, and the amperage is exactly designed to mimic the neural pulses nature uses to activate those muscles. Only the voltage is greater so that the current will penetrate clothing and skin.

  • Do the beams have to touch bare skin?
    • It isn’t necessary for the beams to touch the subject’s skin. Because of its high potential the current easily penetrates clothing.

  • Do the beams have to contact particular areas of the body?
    • No, because the current spreads throughout a very large area.

  • Is your stock sold OTC (Over The Counter)?
    • HSV Technologies is incorporated under the laws of the State of California as a “C” corporation. As such, we may accept unsolicited investments, but not solicit them. If you wish further information please send an e-mail inquiry to: president@hsvt.org

  • Could these weapons be used by criminals and terrorists?
    • These weapons could be used unlawfully, but there are several reasons why such use would be limited. First, the manufacturers will sell them only to law enforcement and military agencies. Second, they would have to be greatly modified to make them lethal. Third, the beams cannot penetrate metal like bullets. Fourth, they are considerably more expensive than firearms. Fifth, almost any lethal purpose for which they might be used could be accomplished as well by rifles or pistols. Sixth, their unlawful use would doubtless be severely prosecuted.

  • Could the beams of the Vehicle Disabling Weapon harm the passengers?
    • Not at all. Less than one percent of the ultraviolet radiation and none of the electrical current can penetrate window glass. Moreover, the beams are emitted for less than a millisecond, which is too brief to injure anyone they contact.


 

Technical Questions:

 

 

  • How far can you project the tetanizing effect?
    • With an ultraviolet wavelength of 193 nanometers, the maximum effective range is about 100 meters. The effective range increases to two kilometers when a wavelength of 248 nanometers and a more intense beam are used.

  • Why are only the skeletal muscles tetanized?
    • The skeletal muscles are held immobile because they are composed of striated or “stringy” muscle tissue. Striated muscle tissue is easily stimulated by electrical currents. On the other hand, heart muscle is affected only by significantly more powerful currents. Thus, this difference in sensitivity is a natural safety factor.

  • How do you get the electrical current to the target?
    • The electrical current is conducted through two channels of ionized air between the device and the target. The channels are created by two laser beams having a wavelength in the far-ultraviolet region, such as of 193 or 248 nanometers.

  • Why use two beams?
    • We use two beams because there would otherwise be no return path for the electrical current. One beam creates a conductive channel of ionized air to the target and the second beam ionizes another channel through which the current returns. In this way, the target becomes a part of the electrical circuit.

  • Are the beams visible?
    • Although the ultraviolet radiation itself cannot be seen, the beams are obvious. This is because oxygen molecules fluoresce green when they de-ionize. Moreover, an even brighter coaxial beam of visible light commonly will be used to designate the target.

  • Why doesn’t the current in the ionized channels jump to ground before it reaches the target?
    • The current cannot flow to ground because it is surrounded by a strong insulating material, air. Un-ionized air is an excellent electrical insulator (dielectric), as its breakdown potential is about 38,000 volts per centimeter. Also, the recombination time between the liberated electrons and their parent oxygen ions is measured in microseconds. Therefore, the electrons are able to travel only a few nanometers outside the ultraviolet beam before being absorbed, thus preventing the formation of any conductive paths to ground.

  • Your patent says that the current is only a few milliamps, so why does the voltage have to be so high?
    • There are two reasons for the very high potential (voltage). The first is to help ionize the air channels, and the second is to insure that the current penetrates the clothing of the target person.

  • How does photoionization make air electrically conductive?
    • Photoionization is the process by which particles or wave-packets of electromagnetic energy called photons, in this case ultraviolet photons, bombard and dislodge electrons from the molecules of oxygen they strike. The electrons are then free to move as a current whenever they are subjected to an electrical potential. (A flow of electrons is an electrical current.)

  • Why do you ionize the oxygen in air instead of the more common nitrogen?
    • Nitrogen is four times more common in air than oxygen, but is difficult to photoionize. Oxygen is easily ionized by photon bombardment, especially by far-ultraviolet radiation. For example, at a wavelength of 193 nanometers (nm) only two simultaneous photons are needed to dislodge an electron from a molecule of molecular oxygen (O2). By using 193 nm ultraviolet radiation we are able to create a channel of ionized, and therefore electrically conductive, air up to 100 meters (yards) long. For more details, please click on
      US Patent #5,675,103

  • Infrared lasers have been available for more than thirty years, so why not use them?
    • We would never use infrared lasers. It would be extremely dangerous to create the ionized air channels with them. This is because at least six simultaneous infrared photons are required to dislodge a single electron from an oxygen molecule. Infrared beams of such intensity would easily burn the skin and destroy the sight of any person or animal they struck.

  • How is the anti-vehicle weapon different from the tetanizing weapon?
    • The vehicle disabling weapon (VDW) differs from the tetanizing weapon in several ways. First, it uses only a single 500 microsecond pulse of high-frequency current to destroy the electronic controls of the target vehicle. It is able to do this because the integrated circuits in the controls are easily damaged by such currents. Second, the wavelength of the laser radiation emitted by the VDW is 248 rather than 193 nanometers (nm). Third, the range is approximately two kilometers. This range is achieved because the longer wavelength radiation is less rapidly absorbed. (At 248 nm, three simultaneous photons are needed to dislodge one electron from molecular oxygen. Therefore, a higher intensity must be emitted to create the same ionization density over the two-kilometer distance.) Fourth, it is larger and heavier because it may be carried in a vehicle rather than by hand. For more details, please click on Vehicle Disabling Weapon by HSV Technologies, Inc. (Adobe Acrobat required)

  • Does altitude affect the ionized channels?
    • The lower air density at higher altitudes increases the efficiency of the ionization process. To the point where the oxygen is too tenuous to be an adequate source of electrons, the liberated electrons have a longer mean free path in less dense air.

  • Could this technique be used to make a laser lightning rod?
    • Several types of laser lightning rods have already been designed. For further information, you may read on the internet the papers of Jean-Claude Diels and Bruno La Fontaine, among others.

  • Are the beams affected by atmospheric conditions?
    • Even the strongest wind is not a problem because the recombination time between the liberated electrons and their parent O2 ions is extremely rapid, on the order of microseconds (depending on the energy imparted to them). Therefore, the electrons are able to travel only a few nanometers outside the ultraviolet beam before being absorbed. The ionized channels thus remain straight and steady no matter how powerful the wind. On the other hand, heavy rain and fog are a major problem because the electron attachment rate to water vapor is quite high. However, it may be possible to overcome that difficulty by using a coaxial beam of infrared radiation to heat the supersaturated air.

Fuck that social contract

Zodra je zegt, ik ben anarchist en ik heb een uitkering is de kans groot dat een of andere pipo gaat zeggen: tss, wel tegen de staat zijn maar er toch geld van ontvangen. Een redenatie die volgens diegene meestal op zich zelf staat zodat ie vergnoegd denkt te hebben gewonnen. Dat deze uitspraak meestal gedaan wordt door mensen die ook zeggen: al die buitenlanders jatten mijn baan, en in dezelfde discussie weten te zeggen dat ze hier alleen maar komen om een uitkering op te strijken en lui en werkloos te zijn, behoeft eigenlijk geen verwondering te wekken.
Maar goed, ik ben dus een soort van anarchist, en ik wil een uitkering. Ik wil geld van de staat en vervolgens doen waar ik zin in heb. Helaas zijn het niet meer de jaren 80, dus tegenwoordig mag dat niet meer van de kleinburgerlijke middenstanders geest die door dit enge door prikkeldraad omringde landje waart.
Waarom ik daar recht op denk te hebben?
Omdat ik nooit een contract met deze samenleving of staat aan heb willen gaan. Ik ben hier geboren, kreeg een Nederlandse Nationaliteit, en daar moet ik verdomme maar blij mee zijn. Want je hebt toch geluk als je in zo’n welvarend land geboren bent? Nou, weet je, houd die welvaart van je maar. Ik ben redelijk gelukkig met 4 muren en een dak, wat kleding, platen en zo nu en dan eens een goede fles whisky of zo. En wat vrienden om me heen. Dat is wat ik van het leven wil. Beetje schrijven, wat aankloten, niks doen, wel wat doen, weet ik veel.
Maar helaas, in deze maatschappij mag dat niet zomaar, tenzij je rijk geboren bent, dan kun je met respect aangekeken worden als je wat aankloot en geld er door heen brast zonder te werken. (waar de ouders waarschijnlijk hard voor hebben gewerkt, of, nog waarschijnlijker, andere mensen hard voor hebben uitgebuit..)
Anders wordt er van je verwacht dat je netjes gaat studeren, werken, huisje en dat soort onzin haalt, en braaf je belasting betaald zodat de staat haar deel van het sociale contract na kan komen. Je bescherming bieden tegen geboefte, en je te beschermen en verzorgen in het geval van ziekte of ouderdom.
Hartstikke goed idee natuurlijk, dat we elkaar helpen en voor elkaar zorgen wanneer het nodig is. Dat zorgt er toch voor dat je als mens makkelijker overleeft. In theorie is zo’n sociaal contract ook niet verkeerd, alleen de uitvoering zint me niet.
Ik ben het namelijk helemaal niet eens met wat deze staat uit mijn naam loopt te doen. En ook niet met de vorm van invloed die ik daar op uit kan oefenen. Dat politieke circus wil ik niet, ik wil geen indirecte vertegenwoordiging, politieke partijen en al die democratische farce. Maar je kunt er wel niet aan meedoen, en vervolgens dus geen invloed uitoefenen (voor zover er sowieso sprake van enige invloed is..) maar dat verandert noch de staat noch de termen van het sociaal contract wat ik dus bij geboorte al (onvrijwillig!) ben aangegegaan.
Ik kan natuurlijk mijn sociaal contract met de Nederlandsche Staat beeindigen, en inruilen voor dat van een andere staat, mits ik aan de juiste voorwaarden voldoe. Maar dat wil ik waarschijnlijk ook niet, omdat er geen staat is in deze wereld die een contract aanbiedt wat ik wil ondertekenen. Het enige contract wat ik kan of wil accepteren is een contract wat ik samen met een groep opstel, wat uit eigen keuze ondertekent kan worden en ook weer opgezegd.
Ergo, ik zit opgescheept met een waardeloos sociaal contract waar ik niet onderuit kan, wat mij allemaal verplichtingen oplegt waar ik nimmer om heb gevraagd in ruil voor enkele rechten of zekerheden waar ik ook niet persé iets mee wil. Maar, omdat ik nu eenmaal aan dit contract vastzit, neem ik het recht op een uitkering. De plicht tot werken daarvoor accepteer ik niet. Dan hadden ze me maar moeten vragen of ik het contract accepteerde toen ik op zelfstandige leeftijd kwam. En me de optie moeten geven om neen te zeggen, en vervolgens naar een Staatsloos gebied toe te sturen, waar ik onafhankelijk kan leven van de staat en deze maatschappij. Waar ik met de mensen om me heen een contract op kan stellen dat vrijwillig na gekomen wordt.
Iedereen zou dat recht moeten hebben, om het contract te weigeren zodra je 16 ofzo wordt. Dat je kunt kiezen tussen de veiligheid van een maatschappij met al bekende wetten, regels en plichten, of dat je zegt, nee, dat lijkt me niks, ik weiger dit contract en

 

ga op zoek naar een andere club.
Ik eis het recht op stateloosheid, op luiheid en op vrijheid. Op naar Utopia!(en als we daar zijn, dan zien we dan wel hoe en wat we gaan doen ok?)

Peanut Butter Jelly Time

Calendar wise autumn is fully installed. And because traditionally it’s harvest count,  let’s take a  look through the granaries. U.S economy is falling again, Greece is going bankrupt (but probably will soon receive a kick in the ass and thus step forward), France, Italy, Portugal and Spain aren’t groovy at all, nature’s tempests are vacationing  in Asia   and the Wall Street market arrows were all red and pointing down on Friday evening.

Subsequently a lot of commotion worldwide: protests riots and demonstrations seem to pop up and cross over all over the globe.  Might be rushing in counting our revolutions, especially since this week the lesser half of the world economy just went k-boom! Continue Reading »

Het kadaver van Gaddafi: UCLA bro is still ok.

The revolution in Libya was definitely televised. There’s nothing more inspirational than a bunch of people striding for democracy in a totalitarian state. The heroes had been widely demonstrated, paraded and praised in every western media outlet. Photo reports showed the ingenious improvised artillery vehicles and the vile mercenaries. World leaders wished the revolutionaries all the best while supporting them with aid and assistance. Libya air campaign conducted by the NATO was the longest since Kosovo. Fall of Tripoli was celebrated as the big step in Democratization of Libya. Cheerful faces of Libyans decorated front pages of newspapers. The state controlled media in Russia and China painted a somewhat different picture, however, but who cares what these commie dogs have to say… Its Democracy baby! Fuck yeah!

Now that the public interest have gone down and news anchors moved onto more interesting topics. But the conflict is far from over of course. NATO’s air campaign goes on, and the western media starts to catch on with the escalating insurgency and chaos as NTC fails to control it’s own forces.

Rebel leaders in Misrata appear to have already decided how to punish Tawergha’s people, whom rebels accuse of pillaging homes and raping women during an assault on Misrata in March. Though the rape allegations have been difficult to prove, they have fueled immense hatred.

Now, rebels have been torching homes in the abandoned city 25 miles to the south. Since Thursday, The Wall Street Journal has witnessed the burning of more than a dozen homes in the city Col. Gadhafi once lavished with money and investment. On the gates of many vandalized homes in the country’s only coastal city dominated by dark-skinned people, light-skinned rebels scrawled the words “slaves” and “negroes.”

“We are setting it on fire to prevent anyone from living here again,” said one rebel fighter as flames engulfed several loyalist homes.

Sand, armed trucks and scorched earth tactics! Rape and pillage! Lord Humungus would be proud.

Oh, and by the way, revolutionary UCLA-bro is still doing great!

Piraten zum Wahlkampf!

Berlin – Bring out the rum and wenches, as the old establishment is made to walk the plank during the Berlin State Elections, by the Pirate Party, keelhauling the Freie Demokratische Partei (Free Democratic Party,) a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. Pretty much on Talk Like A Pirate Day. Epic Win!

After the elections, FDP took the biggest hit: 13 seats where traded in favor of 15 seats for the pirates. This means that in the Berlin electorial district, one in eleven voters choose the high seas. Voters under the age of thirty even reached 21% – around one in five. This may bode well for pirates in other districts and countries.

The Pirate Party movement started in 2006 in Sweden, following the arrest of the founders of the Pirate Bay website. They fight for freedom and privacy, both on the ‘Net and IRL and the transparancy of state administration.They also seek to reform laws regarding copyright and patents.

„In unserem Programm ist das Bekenntnis zu Humanismus und zur Menschenwürde aller Menschen an erster Stelle verankert. Eine Differenzierung nach Geschlecht, Alter o.ä. lehnen wir ab.”
- Mein erster echter Wahlkampf

Other parties and groups were formed in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain and the number is growing. At this moment, there are forty countries having a Pirate Party.

As part of their campaing, the Berlin division also started a War on Trolling. Or at least, they ask their visitors to “unnötiges Trollen oder Vor-dem-ersten-Kaffee-Kommentare zu verhindern.” Some suggest there is also a Ninja party, but, being Ninjas they’re very secretive and invisible.

berlin.piratenpartei.de/

9/11 One moment and the ten years after

10 years after 9/11, memorial wounds take generations to heal. Heroes of one side, murderers of the other, awe and shock of multiple fold paradigm rolling on the screens. In thinking about the events of September, it’s hard to decide which of the outcomes of things happening is more monstrous. The event itself- 3000 people killed. Having the opportunity to be an impotent witness- watching  live on tv? The aftermath? Continue Reading »

Hells Angels and Satudarah Maluku say “Friendship is Magic!”

Amsterdam – Is a war brewing on the streets of Amsterdam? If you ask a Hells Angel or Satudarah (Indonesian for ‘First Blood’) the answer is no. They’re all just motorcycle enthousiasts. Still, things are brewing beneath the surface, and several Harley meetings where cancelled by local authorities in Gouda and Breda because of it. The MC’s have enough and decide to meet in Amsterdam.

There are several things going on behind the scenes though. Satudarah has been contacted by the Bandidos, another MC looking to expand into Dutch territory, and these are sworn enemies of the Hells Angels. Between the Angels and Bandidos there has been a bloody war in Scandinavia, with casualties on both sides. The attacks sometimes even involved the use of handgrenades.

The Angels are looking to stand their ground and wouldn’t like to see Satudarah ally with the Bandidos. The Hells Angels also seem to have some issues with ‘cultural differences’ as they don’t like the way Satudarah recruits, claiming that some Satudarah members don’t even know how to ride or even do not own a Harley.

Last year a Hells Angel was shot in Haarlem in what seems to be a drugs related incident. Notably, Satudarah members where welcomed in the Haarlem Hells Angels clubhouse, and they joined the funeral procession openly. Continue Reading »

The popculture distraction theory is working

 Earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes (and the odd World Cup soccer match) may be newsworthy subjects to post about on microblogging platform Twitter, but it was the news of pop singer Beyonce’s pregnancy that set a new Tweets Per Second (TPS) record.

 

Twitter sets record with news of Beyonce’s pregnancy – Gadgets & Tech, Life & Style – The Independent.

 Once again popculture trivialities beat actual world events. What do American students think?

Do you remember the last time you had a thought-provoking discussion with your friends about the issues effecting this country and around the globe?

Well, students interviewed for this article said such occurrences with their friends were few and far between. Instead, for example they said their friends may spend hours chitchatting about what The Situation said on an episode of Jersey Shore, rather than the revolutions exploding in the Middle East or the workers’ strife in Wisconsin.

hunterword.com/articles/1183

McFailed State US No 1. Export Product

Tripoli – Libyans all over Libya and Tripoli rejoiced as NATO anounced victory over the evil tyrant Moamar Kadaffi. People on the streets where anxious to welcome their new rulers. A local Libyan phrased it best: “Why settle for  a single autocrat who rapes pillages and plunders when one can be raped pillaged and plundered multiple times by multiple autocrats.”

 

 

Mom, where did those angry people pointing guns at us come from?

  The U.N attack in Nigeria, qualified as ‘an attack on the world”  is only the last lassie to join the dance in a row of unpopular popular acts world wide. Some of forms of  insurrections get a green light and are supported by the public opinion, some aren’t. The nasty kids either don’t get proportional news coverage  ( see protests in Israel) or are labeled as Islamic terrorists (when possible) and there for excluded from a political point of view.

Although the talk back in the civilized world’ revolved around responsible investment and partnership with the African countries for a sustainable development and mutual benefits, that discourse seems just a calming pep talk. Well, since the general public is comfortably dreaming of Eco-fuels and fair businesses and eating nationalist discourse about how their forefathers worked hard to build the nation’s wealth, the following facts aren’t going to disturb them.

Continue Reading »