# Are scalar weapons for real? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 4, 2003, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879 "2003-08-04T12:50:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zhlf210](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c4cdca/32.png) [@zhlf210](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zhlf210)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879/1 "2003-08-04T12:50:00Z")
Apologies if this has been done before - I tried searching the archives but came up with zilch. Is there a) any real science behind these fabled WMD and b) any evidence of anyone having made a working prototype? I tried google but all I could find was a bunch of UFO crank sites…hope I haven’t answered my own question! ---
**Author:** ![Tomcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Tomcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tomcat)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879/2 "2003-08-04T13:24:16Z")
What are scalar weapons? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879/3 "2003-08-04T13:32:45Z")
As far as I can glean from the plethora of crank sites, they are supposedly electromagnetic force weapons, capable of projecting stationary or fast-mofing ‘bubbles’ of (some kind of electromagnetic ‘disruption’). Their main use appears to be in connection with the manufacture of intricate crop circles, this assertion alone is enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879/4 "2003-08-04T14:04:27Z")
Ah, they’re 1920’s style “Death Rays”. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879/5 "2003-08-04T14:12:35Z")
Ah, they’re 1920’s style “Death Rays”. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879/6 "2003-08-04T14:24:54Z")
Ah, they’re 1920’s style “Death Rays”. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879/7 "2003-08-04T14:24:54Z")
A good rifle in the hands of a well-trained soldier is pretty damn deadly, already. Is some kind of loopy electromagnetic rail-gun gizmo supposed to change the balance of power or something? Applications of existing or up-and-coming technology can be much more impressive, including equipping soldiers with better communications gear and GPS and junk like that so that if they get into a firefight, command will instantly know where they are, where the enemy is, and where exactly to put the artillery or the airstrike in order to wipe the enemy out. In this case, it’s not important to come up with a single overpowering weapon, but to use all of your various weapons in concert so you bring exactly as much force as you need, no more and no less. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879/8 "2003-08-04T15:16:40Z")
Ah, they’re 1920’s style “Death Rays”. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879/9 "2003-08-04T15:51:35Z")
They’re 1920’s style “Death Rays”, you say? ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879/10 "2003-08-04T15:54:16Z")
Sounds like the weapons Heinlein used in “Between Planets”; entirely fictional. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879/11 "2003-08-04T15:56:14Z")
Something tells me that they’re 1920’s style “Death Rays”. The echoing kind. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879/12 "2003-08-04T15:58:12Z")
Ah, they’re 1920’s style “Death Rays”. ---
**Author:** ![Standup\_Karmic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Standup\_Karmic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Standup_Karmic)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879/13 "2003-08-04T16:00:50Z")
I’m not sure what they are, but I don’t think they’re 1920’s style “Death Rays”. Maybe they’re 1930’s style “Death Rays”. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879/14 "2003-08-04T16:20:08Z")
Looks like I may as well give up on my 21stC death ray, it’s already been done. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879/15 "2003-08-04T16:57:44Z")
Well, I understand they are some sort of 1920’s-style death rays, but otherwise I know nothing of them. ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879/16 "2003-08-04T17:14:22Z")
The U.S. Army might have some. Check under “Ray, Death, 1920-'s-style.” RR ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879/17 "2003-08-04T17:37:01Z")
These scalar people don’t seem to understand the idea of science at all. Whenever I hear these kooks on various radio shows discussing scalar energy, they never use any quantifiable terms and every “expert” seems have different ideas of the mechanics behind it. And nobody seems the least bit interested in experimental evidence. I think the 1920’s-style death rays are based more on Tesla’s work than on scalar energy. ---
**Author:** ![Ring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Ring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ring)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879/18 "2003-08-04T21:13:13Z")
Would anyone know when these “death rays” were developed? ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879/19 "2003-08-04T21:49:35Z")
I don’t know where, but I heard somewhere that they were developed in the twentys. ---
**Author:** ![confessorknight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@confessorknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/confessorknight)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879/20 "2003-08-04T22:01:03Z")
More information on older “Death Rays”. [Harry Grindell-Matthews](http://www.famouswelsh.com/cgibin/getmoreinf.cgi?pers_id=135), who I came across while searching for information about British Urban Legends (but seems to be real). Struck by this I was considering having “Death Ray Matthews” as my user-name. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-scalar-weapons-for-real/192879.md?page=2)