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Time delay weapons
<StiltedVoice> "I can see that you are serious. I will give up, now." </StiltedVoice> | |
Some recent annotations regarding author Larry Niven reminded me of one of his short dissertations on modern warfare.
He refers to what he calls the "surrender reflex" - that self-preservation drive that kicks in when you realize there's no way to defeat the enemy. Modern warfare doesn't usually
allow the exchange of surrender signals due to its stand-off nature. If you see the flash, its already too late.
I propose an array of time delay munitions.
Bombs dropped during a run wouldn't detonate on impact. Instead, after the run was complete, the opposition would have 5, 10, or whatever minutes to surrender. Note that this won't work well for convential bombs or shells, but would work wonderfully for nuclear weapons.
Bullets are another issue. Rather than tossing a slug of metal designed to destroy flesh, how about something more needle-like. A bullet that enters the body without causing undue physical trauma while not so narrow as to pass through the body. Again, the opponent, once struck, has a certain amount of time to surrender before the bullet detonates.
Psy-Ops, with a Daisy Cutter Backup
http://www.pipeline...ywarrior/gulf1.html
Addendum to UnaBubba's and pottedstu's remarks. [Guncrazy, Nov 01 2001, last modified Oct 21 2004]
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There was a time-delayed Nuke used at the end of Independence Day, though instead of initiating a "surrender reflex", it allowed our heroes to gloat, bicker and get the f**k away from there. |
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The problem with a time delayed bomb is that there is a chance that the enemy could just disarm the thing whilst you're waiting for them to surrender. |
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Beat me to it, kaz. I have a solution though. Just be sure that if your time-delayed bomb has a big red digital countdown, you offset the detonation by a second, so that would-be McGyver's get their asses blown off when they cut the red wire with one second to go (as they always do). |
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5... 4... 3... 2... <snip> |
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I thought that this was going to be like the asssassination weapon in Chasm City, where you can shoot a group of people with a needle gun and eight seconds later their heads simultaneously explode. |
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Ah Hiroshima ... where is Truman when you need him most? |
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To elaborate on UB: from Private Eye, 2 Nov 2001, p 4: |
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// There was massive press coverage of the arrival in Afghanistan of the C-130 "Spectre" gunship -- basically a converted Hercules with machine guns on the sides... [Amongst other purposes] It is used to deliver 15,000lb BLU-82 "Daisy Cutter" bombs which, the size of a small car, are pushed out of the back cargo door on a parachute. |
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The bomb's GSX Slurry explosive was originally designed to clear helicopter landing sites in the Vietnam jungles by the force of its massive blast. C-130's later dropped 11 BLU-82 bombs on the Iraqis -- "dropped as much for their psychological effect", according to the Federation of American Scientists. |
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The explosion causes a massive pressure shock of 1000lbs per square inch, killing indiscrimately over a wide area. The C-130 aeroplane is also used for "psychological operations" -- principally dropping leaflets. During the gulf war they dropped leaflets with a drawing of the distinctive BLU-82 in outline and the simple message in Arabic: "Flee and live! Stay and die!" // |
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As usual the US Military has it sorted. |
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Explosive bullets are prohibited for use on personnel by the Geneva convention. And the timed bomb was baked in Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troopers". |
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Use hydrogen it is an explosion you are after |
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The problem with time delay weapons, such as the grenade (which makes this idea baked), is that the delay gives your opponent time to sling it back at you. |
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Time delay nuclear bomb? Nuclear bombs generally explode several hundred metres above the ground. How are you going to suspend it? |
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With more resources spent on this area of science than any other I think it is fair to say that nobody in the Halfbakery is going to come up with anything original in terms of a bomb. |
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