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Hypersonic Sound Turns The Way You Hear On Its Ear
from the the-laster-of-sound dept
We've had a few articles about directed sound before, but this one goes into a lot of detail about the guy who invented hypersonic sound - which they describe as sort of a "laser for sound". It sends very directed soundwaves over great distances. As an example, they send someone 100 yards away across a busy highway, and then point a tiny speaker at them, playing the sound of ice "clinking in a glass" - which can be heard clearly, as if it were being played into headphones for the person. If they move a few feet away, the sound disappears. People are suggesting this could absolutely revolutionize many different industries and jobs. Of course, they say the technology still has a ways to go, but the guy who invented it is quite interesting. He seems more like an "old time" inventor. He never went to college, but created the basic technology behind the sonogram, and the popular "Jabra" earpeace that includes a microphone built into the earpiece. If the directed sound technology really works as well as is described in the article, there are a tremendous number of possibilities for it. It really would open up plenty of new markets and even change how people interact with each other and various appliances.
Reader Comments
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New forms of antisocial behavior
With cell phones, at least we can tell the person is talking into a cell phone. Now it will be harder to notice people who are either:
1. talking to themselves
2. talking to someone over your shoulder
3. talking to a friend far away
4. talking to you?
Elephants have a form of hypersound by which they stomp the ground and can be detected many miles away, while cats use ultrasound to make "silent meows".
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Re: New forms of antisocial behavior
Elephants use infrasound, which is sound frequencies below the threshold of human hearing. We're talking 10 hz or so. This actually travels slower than the speed of sound, and is produced not by the feet of the elephant but by its actual vocal chords! Larger whales also produce infrasound which allows them to communicate with other whales across the globe, as sound travels much greater distances underwater. Humpbacks in California can talk to humpbacks in the Antarctic Ocean.
But this is different from hypersound.
Hypersound seems to be nothing more than tightly focused, but normal, sound waves - one of the "interesting" uses not described by the article is the utilization of sound as a weapon: a non-lethal incapacitating gun used on people like peace demonstrators and other criminals of our glorious fascist state.
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New weapons for terrorists
Now you can send deafening sounds and selectively deafen people. Speaker towers on sidewalks could make voices be heard inside people's heads. How about "sonic abortions" -- make the fetus disintegrate with sound waves?
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Re: New weapons for terrorists
> How about "sonic abortions" -- make the fetus disintegrate with sound waves?< BR>IIRC, a similar method is already used to treat kidney stones
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Re: New weapons for terrorists
Yup, I saw 80s footage when they had a shotgun-like device to crack them. Do they have remote sound versions now?
I imagine directed sound waves could be useful for blocked sinuses as well.
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Re: New weapons for terrorists
Some of the so called pranks NOW being done with this or these technologies can more than clear your sinuses -- they can produce major nose bleeds requiring hospitalization for a week. Some nut case pulled this one on me....along with 8 years l0 1/2 months worth of "hey -, let's do a t.v. reality kill of the day show-- like lets drop the sound right in back of her while she's on a bike on U.S. 1 -- a HUGE accident sound-- then she'll jump forward into on-
coming traffic. That one almost worked in getting me cremated before the week was out...
Somebody better put a "hold" on the cannons before anyone else gets hurt....my guess is there's a few people out there who will probably never be able to tell us what they heard before
nothing ever again....
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New Weapons for Terrorists?
Yeah I think Cobra used a weapon like this on GI Joe back in the day...and I'm pretty sure that it was used against the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as well.
I think you're overreacting a bit, there are weapons out there being developed by US defense contractors that are far worse. They like to describe this technology as a 'sound laser', so it may be most telling to examine the ways that terrorists are using lasers now. I remember once again that Cobra used lasers against GI Joe, but I really can't recall any reports of lasers being used in terrorist attacks. However, I do know that there are possible plans for the US Military to employ lasers to blind enemies on the battlefield.
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Re: New Weapons for Terrorists?
Uhm, yeah, real great weapon to pacify protesters, unless they *bring ear plugs*!
Also, last I read the US military developed battlefield lasers but they gave that up - guess they figured it was more humane to kill them than blind them. Dead people tell no tales, (ie. don't show up on the news and thus make the US look like the Big Bad.)
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Re: New Weapons for Terrorists?
I also heard that the lasers were just too cumbersome to carry.... but they have Humvee mounted lasers... I believe they use Microwaves and cook you from the inside out...
I'd like mine well done Corporal!
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Re: New Weapons for Terrorists?
As long as it can kill use it use all my tax money please.
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Re: New Weapons for Terrorists?
Why don't they just blind them, THEN kill them? I think everybody wins in that scenario.
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You guys are missing the obvious...
The RIAA would love this sort of kit - imagine a DRM / Hardware implimentation that ensures that only one single person is able to consume a sound. Now that's progress!
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heh
The pranking opportunities are endless...
The old "Make them think Jesus is talking to them" ploy, used in the movie "Real Genius" to great effect. They used a speaker in a false tooth for that, but the effect is the same. Essentially, a voice in their head talking to them will make them 1. Think they're going bonkers, 2. Do whatever you tell them (because "Jesus" knows best), or 3. throw a conniption fit and make EVERYONE ELSE think the dude is crazy. Which may be the intent.
Also, various sound effects to distract them whenever it's useful to do so. The old Jedi distraction trick. "What was that sound?" "What sound?" Useful during finals if some major ass needs a lesson. He won't be able to concentrate.
Great in haunted houses (or other situations to scare someone). Invisible ghost effect: "Give me back my golden arm!" or whatever the local legend is. I bet you can get your neighbors to move out if you pull this one off with creativity.
Can you say "Annoying Music?" Blast Rob Zombie at the Bible-thumper. Watch the reaction. Nail the gangsta with a dose of Barney the Dinosaur. Etc. Guaranted to make them go away. Or at least do funny things.
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I guess people here haven't been reading Techdirt.
long enough to recognize the duplicate stories
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When I saw Hypersonic Sound I bought the stock, AT
Too much like getting in on an Apple or Starbucks on the ground floor, HSS (hypersonic sound) and their HIDA/LRAD (sound weapon/long range signaling) technology is amazing. So I bought the stock, ATCO and don't say I didn't warn you. Their NeoPlanar (flat) speakers are going on Gateway systems, Sony is rolling out HSS displays (it isolates sound so you hear it only in front of the display), The Army and Navy are using their products, LRAD and HIDA are non-lethal signaling and for those nasty terrorists that don't want to give up, we have HIDA (hee hee), Just point it at whatever they are hiding in and blast, ears covered or not, even deaf or not, won't matter much - it is a non-lethal sound weapon that will do THINGS to their nervous systems and cause them much pain and discomfort instantly.
(do your own DD, I own a load of the stock so some would say I have a vested interest...)
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Hi Guys -
A hypersonic sound (called HSS).
This device shoots a beam of sound, and has the capabilities of going much lower and higher than regular cone speakers. Regualer speakers disperse outwards and carries distortion, as the HSS (hypersonic sound) only goes in a straight line without distortion up to 300 feet away.
If they used this they would of gotten these results:
-Tension/twitching of muscles (from up to 300 feet away) (which is a scary thought)
-giddyness/laughing that "sort of" cant be helped; a feeling of the need to laugh
-body giving/getting a sensation like a massage or similiar to when your hairs on the back of your neck standing up, or like chills (or such as a cold shiver when your cold, but contant)
-panic attacks;anxiety
-The feeling of the sound is in your head. Mimicking schizophrenia with voices in your head
They cant really do "real" results with a regualr speaker as this disperses the sound and doesnt focus the sound like a laser.
The sound a HSS (hypersonic sound) gives is explained as, the or a sound in the head and mimics shizphrinea, as one can transmit sounds/whipers, or in this brown note case, infrasound, to a person. Which will put the sound directly in their head. The HSS uses high frquencies which mixes at contact of solid surfaces. While traveling throught the air it cannot be heard, even if your 2 inches from the sound beam, as it needs to hit a solid surface in order to be heard.
The HSS can be hand portable, as small as a toaster but much lighter. It is a flat device/speaker which can have a small handle.
And from here to:http://www.wanttoknow.info/noisegun
Quote Unquote ---"This cuts down on ambient noise and gives listeners the somewhat eerie effect that the noise is inside their heads"
If your interested in this, type in Hypersonic Sound and/or infrasound, and there is TONS of info on this. You will find photos of this and such as well. There are reports of this on canada.com. Search on their website or google this...High-tech sound will be all in your head (printed by Times Colounist (Victoria) Or more info here as well. http://www.wanttoknow.info/noisegun
Here is a quote from this newspaper...
"In December, the A&E Television Network used the technology on a busy downtown Manhattan street to promote its show, Paranormal State. The new program is about ghost hunters who investigate haunted locations, and people walking by an advertisement heard voices whispering, "Who's there? What's that? It's not your imagination."
The technology works by beaming waves of hypersonic sound at a pitch that is undetectable by the human ear. The waves continue until they smash into an object such as a person's body. The waves then slow, mix and re-create the original audio broadcast. If the person steps out of the waves, the waves are no longer obstructed and they are rendered inaudible."
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