Weapons

Researchers say the first cowboy to draw seldom wins the duel since the brain responds faster to danger

Have you ever noticed that the first cowboy to draw his gun in a Hollywood Western is invariably the one to get shot? Nobel prize–winning physicist Niels Bohr did, and arranged mock duels to test the validity of this cinematic curiosity.

Following Bohr's example, researchers have now confirmed that people move faster if they are reacting to another person's movements than if they are taking the lead themselves. The findings may one day inspire new therapies for patients with brain damage.Read More

Metal Storm's 16-barrel 40mm weapon provides variable rates of fire up to 45,000 rounds per minute per barrel

Metal Storm has been granted another round of patents for the company’s weapon technology using a computer-controlled electronic ignition and a system of stacked projectiles for multiple barrels.

These weapons have no moving parts aside from the projectiles themselves. The bullets are stacked on end in the barrel, separated only by a thin layer of propellant. This offers a variable rate of fire, from semi-automatic to a devastating 45,000 rounds per minute per barrel, with each bullet leaving the barrel at only 4” behind the last.Read More

Fuel cell powered exoskeleton allows loads of up to 200 lbs for extended periods of time and over all terrains

A radical powered exoskeleton under development for use by the US military will be fitted with fuel-cell power supplies which will increase its endurance from hours to days - and furnish juice for the burgeoning load of electronics carried by modern soldiers.Read More

A Sonic Blaster So Loud, It Could Be Deadly

The Thunder Generator uses mixture of liquefied petroleum, cooking gas, and air to create explosions, which in return generate shock waves capable of stunning people from 100 to 300 feet away. At that range, the weapon is absolutely harmless, making people run in panic when they feel the sonic blast hitting their bodies. However, at less than 30 feet, the Thunder Generator could either cause permanent damage or kill a person.Read More

Physicist John Hunter wants to shoot stuff into space with a 3,600-foot gun.

Building colossal guns has been John Hunter’s pet project since 1992, when, while a physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, he first fired a 425-foot gun he built to test-launch hypersonic engines. Its methane-driven piston compressed hydrogen gas, which then expanded up the barrel to shoot a projectile.Read More

DARPA Spends $51 Million On Cyber War Firing Range

Chas Andrews

DARPA hopes a $51 million network simulation, complete with computer programs that behave like human targets and adversaries, will provide the perfect arena for developing the next generation of cyberwar weapons and tactics.Read More

32 large rocket engines and some careful calculations ensured fun for the whole family.Read More

The video above shows a huge atomic explosion under the sea. The ship in the foreground was a test ship to measure the effects of the blast.

Science Fiction Weapons That Actually Exist

The gear may look like it came straight out of Avatar or Battlestar Galactica. But all of the laser weapons, robots and sonic blasters pictured here are real. Some of these weapons have already found their way onto the battlefield.Read More

Man machines a 17.5 caliber cannon

The precision machined cannon features a 2017 aluminum chassis and stainless steel barrel that is 13.5" long, about 2 inches in diameter, and fires a 17.5mm ball using black powder.Read More