Wait, wait, wait...
You're telling me, that when you shoot a microwave weapon into a crowd it cooks their brains instead of putting voices in their heads? I probably could have saved you guys a few million dollars of reasearch if you would have just asked what would happen.

chrisaroz

@The_Gas_Man:
that's correct.
I believe there is also a "light boil" mode as well.

Awkward I don't believe is the word for it.
Tremendously stupendous, or downright horrifying might better terms for both sides of the coin.

tehdahl

so, the Medusa scientists aren't very adept in their field. Making claims w/o actually going through the basic numbers. Are these guy's even scientists?

jkr2

So this would still actualy make for effective crowd control if they could get the voices to say "please disperse now or we're going to serve your up brain like a plate of fish and chips." Think of it as kind of like the caution tape, only in your head. Like the rest of life, if you start hearing voices in your head, perhaps it's time to take a step back and re-evaluate the situation...

sqeakytoy of the apocalypse

Is there anyway to redirect it into a single concentrated death beam? Like a death ray sniper rifle. They would never see it coming their heads would just explode...

snakepliskin

"most likely by frying or cooking your brain"
Frying or cooking, eh?

The_Gas_Man

Classic example of theoreticians thinking something up without consulting with a more practically inclined scientist. It took pharmacologists about 50 years to see the error of their ways (most of them, anyway), the physicists can't be too far behind... that is, unless they kill us all first.

Hvedhrungr

I had the same problems with my mind control device. It just killed the test subjects before the mind control started to take place.

Of course, it was just an old Mosin-Nagant that I painted red and wrote "Mind Control Device" on the side.

mhlaxp

umm how exactly did they determine it fries your brain? anyone missing a relative?

mcdj

lol you spelled Touche TUSHAY

mathlabs

@dlomax tushay my friend, tushay indeed.

chaz9205

The volunteers and reporters subjected to this raygun over and over again for our entertainment pleasure are all going to die. Bye Bye Bob Pizzi! Time to call Sokolov and Sokolov.

cafenitro

The operators must use protection cause any echo that can be bounced back at them

uhmm i rather see that the persons were turned into stone cause that gives medusa more power

TBM-Fan

@chaz9205: Does it count as deaf if you're dead?

dlomax

do you still die if your deaf? :-D

chaz9205

@WD40: put that on top of a fricking shark's head

Ariel_Wollinger

The brain killing mode is only the secondary fire mode.

Emiat

Not a death ray or an ice beam.

(That's so Johnny Snow.)

strider_mt2k

Wow, what a couple of wet blankets. They completely ruined *that* surprise.

Hanzo

Dr Evil would approve this...

WD40

Yeah, we're just working on this crowd device...oh, it kills people, really?...I guess we'll just go with that then.

itchytooth

Seems the deathray was invented at last

Redwraithvienna

We need to get Chris Knight on this whole laser thing.

Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy

@sharnaff: If they use that in their presentation for the US Military (and other handpicked investors and possible consumers), you should sue for copyright infringement.

Hvedhrungr

Our new RonCo MEDUSA(tm) fun ray comes with 3 different ways to impress your new friends and family!

Pesky children stealing from the cookie jar? No problem. Hit them with cartoon mode, and watch as their face turns red and steam shoots out their ears. A hilarious deterrent!

Home intrusion becoming a problem? Turn that liability into an asset with our "Lost Ark" mode and watch their faces melt! Burglary has never been so entertaining!

Insurgent forces got you down? Just crank it up to "Ghost Rider" mode and you've got a flaming skull right out out of a comic book. (Voice of Allah not included)

sharnaff

See, this was my problem with the microwave weapon in Batman Begins. Microwaves that evaporate water in all surrounding pipes would do a number of your body considering it is between 60% and 70% water.

Optimus-Prime

Maybe it's me, but I totally see this as a brilliant step to avoid possible moral questions raised by implanting thoughts/voices/whatever into a living being's mind.

Because, you know, we're generally more concerned with abstract questions like that than just blowing each other up in horrifying new ways.

That said... I like it as a brutally effective warfare weapon. It provides a "nice" way to kill the enemy and leave the infrastructure in place... something that only biological weapons could do before.

Evil J

@mathlabs: lol douche'

iCanhasLs2plz

Can you turn this baby into a portable hand gun? I'm thinking I want to microwave popcorn from 500' away.

FrankenPC

I'm pretty sure that companys creating weapons like this think and create way worse weapons.

Some of it just seems to be selectivly told to people.

Neverkilled: Robot Jones, mechanical tyranical

I am still OK with this being used on hippie protesters...

Hiphopopotamus

Finally I have a reason to wear one of these:

logruszed

@Hiphopopotamus: I hate to sound like a dick, since you'll certainly respond that you were "just joking," but honestly, this is a pretty serious situation. The fact that people come this close to introducing deadly weapons as crowd control devices is serious. And face it, there are plenty of people other than "hippie protesters" right now that have a good reason to go out and demonstrate.

Given our current government's unpopularity, its general disdain for free speech, and its lack of hesitation to use torture and extraordinary rendition, we should hardly be chuckling when we hear that they're considering microwave emitters for "crowd control."

alpacalypse

@Hiphopopotamus: Dude, have you smelled burnt hippie?

DeadWriter

There's more than enough Hooligans this can be perfected on. Remember, trial and error.
(Will it reheat fish an chips prior to ones head boiling?)

BiZarRroBALlmeR

@AtomicPlayboy: this could end up being the cause of a zombie apocalypse if they could figure out how to tune it in 'properly'.

undeadmachine

So they've invented a ray that cooks brains inside skulls at a distance. Am I the only one who will sleep a little better tonight knowing that we are now adequately prepared for the coming zombie apocalypse?

AtomicPlayboy

-snif- You smell bacon?

Noobs-R-Us

@The_Gas_Man: What about baking your brain... COOKIES?!

Pablos102030

This is your brain on X-band, kids!

Kilotonne

I'm hoping to take this design and make it more effective by using it to rickroll people on the battlefield.

GrimaceXL

I, for one, wholeheartedly endorse development of this device! This will be awesome for encouraging politicians towards effective action! It's the old carrot (you live) vs. stick (we 'splodes your head!). Plus, since it's all electronic wired it up in a reality show/real-time democracy/video game link! Instant opinion polling with indisuputable results! And group-think/anonymity removes any problems with any pesky conscience-stricken humans. Fantasti ... Bzzz! ... Uhhhh... <*Pop!*>

CherylTurkey

Spaceman Spiff sets the Mertilyzer to "deep fat fry"

anand7