Re:Ask HN: Should the teaching robots, like ATLAS, Martial A...
by PaulHoule on Sunday June 20, 2021 @08:19PM
(#27575030)
The fantasy weapon to kill something like that is a pulse laser or hypervelocity kinetic gun that produces a plasma explosion exceeding 30,000 K on the surface of the thing.
The plasma explosion creates an electromagnetic pulse exactly the same way that an atom bomb does, but it happens right on the casing of the thing and has a stronger effect.
That kind of electromagnetic pulse can directly trigger nerves to cause pain and a "stunning" effect, which together with the impact of the expanding fireball can have a knockdown effect. Somebody from Sandia National Labs told me about this possibility circa 1992, but research got stopped on it circa 2006 when it got out that it could cause pain without tissue damage and they might be zapping people with it at Gitmo.
The plasma explosion creates an electromagnetic pulse exactly the same way that an atom bomb does, but it happens right on the casing of the thing and has a stronger effect.
That kind of electromagnetic pulse can directly trigger nerves to cause pain and a "stunning" effect, which together with the impact of the expanding fireball can have a knockdown effect. Somebody from Sandia National Labs told me about this possibility circa 1992, but research got stopped on it circa 2006 when it got out that it could cause pain without tissue damage and they might be zapping people with it at Gitmo.