### Author:  [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2005, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-of-shazam-to-be-used-by-the-u-s-army/319098/1 "2005-08-29T14:36:53Z")
> [@Sharon Weinberger](#):
>
> But the star attraction was a simple black briefcase that Bitar promised would shoot lightning bolts. He and Fry placed the briefcase (innocuous-looking, if you ignored the pointed needle a few inches long sticking out the side) on top of a carpeted podium, plugged it into a wall socket and flipped a switch. Then they stood back.
> Iridescent streaks of purple lightning snaked out of the briefcase, accompanied by the deafening rattle of what sounded like an M-16, and even in the noisy hangar, conversations momentarily ceased.
> “It looks like something out of a 1950s movie,” one onlooker commented.
> Bitar’s technology is based on a technique pioneered more than 100 years ago by the eccentric Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla. The StunStrike uses an electrical charge to break down the air in front of the weapon to create a path for sparks generated by a “resonant transformer,” better known as a Tesla coil. Unlike a typical Tesla coil, however, Bitar’s invention uses electronics to tune and direct the spark stream. It goes about four feet.
> “We can tune it all the way down so it feels like broom bristles, and all the way up to knock you down,” Bitar informed a group of gawkers.
> \
> Back in his lab in Anderson, Ind., Bitar has a large apparatus – 11 feet high – that shoots sparks about 16 feet. It’s too large and cumbersome to be a portable weapon; he thinks it could be used for securing U.S. embassies. He also produces smaller units – dubbed “StunStrike” – that he says shoot four-foot bolts of lightning.
Well, it sounds like all the above is true, but my headline is not. So far, the article talks about weapons that may be used by the army, or may never be picked up. Who knows? Personally, I think it sounds interesting.
---
### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2005, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-of-shazam-to-be-used-by-the-u-s-army/319098/2 "2005-08-29T15:03:15Z")
**Bosda** is baffled.
Film at 11.
😕😕😕😕😕😕😕
\Enhance, please, Mr. **Plaid**.\
😕😕😕😕😕😕😕
---
### Author:  [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-of-shazam-to-be-used-by-the-u-s-army/319098/3 "2005-08-29T15:34:29Z")
Basically, the article quoted is about a “non-lethal” weapons manufacturer who are producing [del]static electricity[/del] lightning guns, among other things. While the reference to comics in the title is fictional, the article I am linking to is about real life weapons inventors. I thought it would be cool to mention this unusual weapon.
Explanation of the thread’s title:
Now, the fact is that the Power of Shazam, in the comics was the ability to have access to all the powers of many ancient heroes, but since the article was about the possibility of the army using lightning-throwers, I figured it was not inappropriate to use a headline that mentioned the fact that Captain Marvel also uses lightning.
---
### Author:  [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2005, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-of-shazam-to-be-used-by-the-u-s-army/319098/4 "2005-08-29T16:10:17Z")
Cool.
---
### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2005, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-of-shazam-to-be-used-by-the-u-s-army/319098/5 "2005-08-29T16:57:05Z")
I thought only Marines could use the Power of Shazam.
---
### Author:  [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-of-shazam-to-be-used-by-the-u-s-army/319098/6 "2005-08-29T17:09:06Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#):
>
> I thought only Marines could use the Power of Shazam.
What are you muttering about Pyle!?