 Levinson Productivity
Systems, P.C.William A. Levinson, P.E. Principal 570-824-1986  |
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Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) weapons
Space elevator
The one-second television ad
Powered Battle Armor from Starship Troopers
"BUGS, Mr. Rico! Zillions of 'em! I'm a-burnin' them down!" --Robert A. Heinlein, Starship TroopersThe problem with armor, from the time of the Greek hoplite to modern warfare, is that the soldier has to carry it. The bronze Greek panoply of cuirass, helmet, greaves, and shield weighed on the order of sixty pounds. The Roman lorica segmentata (segmented cuirass) was easier to move in but it was still heavy, as was the scutum (tower shield). Modern light but strong polymers like Kevlar have helped with the weight problem but the weight is not insignificant. Also, modern armor will not stop all small-arms fire.
Robert A. Heinlein's Mobile Infantry wore suits of powered armor (not shown in the movie version of Starship Troopers) that gave their wearers good protection and carried enormous firepower. The robotics for powered armor have doubtlessly been around for a couple of decades. All you have to do is build an exoskeleton that can duplicate the functions of the body's major muscle groups. It should also balance itself automatically. The big technical problem is getting it to do what its wearer wants it to do. Heinlein's powered armor had hundreds of tiny sensors inside that detected how the soldier wanted to move. Can anyone say, "Virtual reality bodysuit?" The Nintendo Magic Glove, which has been around for quite a while, can detect the motions of a human hand. Surgeons are, in fact, using this kind of technology to operate by long-distance.
News on powered armor development from DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and elsewhere
- Exoskeletons for Human Performance Augmentation http://www.darpa.mil/DSO/thrust/md/Exoskeletons/index.html
- http://www.darpa.mil/DSO/solicitations/00/Baa00-34/cbd.htm "The overall goal of this program is to develop devices and machines that will increase the speed, strength, and endurance of soldiers in combat environments. Projects will lead to self-powered, controllable, wearable exoskeletal devices and/or machines." As in, "Al Qaida, Mr. Rico! Zillions of 'em! I'm a-burnin' them down!"
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/low/english/sci/tech/newsid_1112000/1112411.stm "The US military is planning to turn soldiers into supermen by fitting them with powered exoskeletons."
Beware the EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) Threat
Anything that relies on electronic control (including powered body armor) must be protected against EMI weapons. Per Ivan Amato, "Crossed Signals: the wireless threat to our electronic infrastructure" (U.S. News & World Report, 16 December 2002, 54-56), "Virtually any electronic system could be disabled, or even destroyed, by electromagnetic interference." The article describes how a high school student built a prototype EMI weapon from scavanged parts and shut down his computer and phone lines in tests. Almost-homemade EMI weapons have also been successful in disabling cars, radios, medical intravenous pumps. A more-powerful EMI weapon (trailer-sized) fried engine control computers at 1000 yards (almost a kilometer). Japanese criminals used an EMI device to make a Pachninko machine spit out cash.
Note also that a nuclear detonation generates enormous EMI. A nuclear attack by terrorists or by a hostile foreign power could destroy electronic equipment even outside the weapon's radius of physical destruction.
This also is an argument for making sure that any personal or home security equipment has mechanical (key or buttons) backup. My personal inclination (not engineering advice, as I have not performed any experiments or direct assessments) would be to avoid firearm storage cabinets or boxes with electronic-only locks. This also rules out any so-called "smart guns" that recognize their owners' fingerprints and won't fire for anyone else; it is too easy to disable them. One might question whether a home security system can be disabled by EMI, although its inactivation might trigger an alarm by the monitoring agency. Electronic-only car locks could be another vulnerability.
Although the actual use of an EMI weapon by criminals or terrorists would inflict massive damage (imagine every computer within a couple of blocks being wiped out, with possible damage to automobiles' electronic ignition systems as well), selection of mechanical-only or electronic-with-mechanical-backup security and emergency equipment will prevent such equipment from being rendered unusable by EMI.
Space Elevator"Where This Elevator Goes, There are No Floors" in Engineering Times (January 2003, page 11) drew my attention to another Heinlein concept: an elevator that makes "Jack and the Beanstalk" a reality. The idea is to connect a long cable to an orbiting platform. The centrifugal force on the platform (it's turning with the Earth) counteracts the force of gravity on the cable. The technological barrier to date has been finding a material that can support its own weight, let alone the weight of a payload, across thousands of miles. Carbon nanotube composites may indeed be strong enough to do this. From HighLift Systems at http://www.highliftsystems.com/
"Simply put, a space elevator is a revolutionary way of getting from Earth into space. A space elevator is a ribbon with one end attached to Earth on a floating platform located at the equator and the other end in space beyond geosynchronous orbit (35,800 km altitude)."
"In its initial report, HighLift Systems has found that a space elevator capable of lifting 5-ton payloads every day to all Earth orbits, the Moon, Mars, Venus or the asteroids could be operational in 15 years. This first space elevator could be built for between $7-$10 billion and would reduce lift costs immediately to $100 per kilogram, as compared to current launch costs, which are $10,000-$40,000 per kilogram..."
The One-Second Television Ad
While hardly an example of high technology, the one-second television ad we are now seeing right before the television program resumes (and possibly one second after it ends) are an opportunity for us to say, "We told you so." The following is directly from the original manuscript of Levinson (1994), The Way of Strategy.
The TV remote control has changed the effectiveness of television advertising. (This is an example of the impact of changing technology on business.) We must seriously consider buying only ad slots that immediately follow or precede the program. Our ad must be either first or last in the series. The first slot is probably better. We assume no one is watching the ones in between. When the first ad appears, they reach for the remote control. When they think the program is ready to return, they switch back. They are likely to see part of the last ad, but we can't count on this. The message, "Our show will return in a few minutes---" is the kiss of death for the next ad. ZAP! goes the remote control.
We have a couple of seconds from when the program stops to when the viewer pushes the button. Get the brand name on the screen immediately. Now, even if they "zap" it, we at least have name recognition. Make the first few seconds interesting and fun, and they may watch the rest. We want no more than 15 seconds unless we're sure they'll watch the whole ad.