This Can't Be Real, Can It?

There I am, reading the news, and I find a headline that looks interesting. It reads, "Microwave Ray Gun Controls Crowds with Noise." Not being a fan of excessive noise, I think, this sounds like an interesting concept -- make an environment inhospitable by blasting unpleasant sounds. Okay. This goes along with the time the American government tried to get Manuel Noriega out of his house by blasting rock music.

I start reading.

I immediately become horrified.

The article does not describe a sound outside that makes people unhappy and interested in running away. It's a sound inside their heads. The article begins, "A US company claims it is ready to build a microwave ray gun able to beam sounds directly into people's heads."

It continues, "The device – dubbed MEDUSA (Mob Excess Deterrent Using Silent Audio) – exploits the microwave audio effect, in which short microwave pulses rapidly heat tissue, causing a shockwave inside the skull that can be detected by the ears. A series of pulses can be transmitted to produce recognisable sounds."

Apparently, "The device is aimed for military or crowd-control applications, but may have other uses."

Gee, ya think?

Also, if a microwave pulse can "rapidly heat tissue" and cause a shockwave inside the skull, can't it also cause serious damage? James Lin of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Illinois in Chicago says, "You might see neural damage."

Huh.

This can't be real, can it?