For those who don’t know, the DOD is nearly ready to deploy its Active Denial System, also known as the “Pain Ray.” The millimeter-wave radiation causes feelings of burning pain (akin to touching a hot stove) in target humans, but when the people leave the beam’s path, the pain immediately ceases, leaving (supposedly) no permanent damage. No one on whom it has been tested has been able to withstand it for more than a few seconds.
The idea is that this is a boon to crowd control (crowd starts to riot, fire the pain ray, everyone screams and runs away). It could also be used to keep people away from sensitive targets (suffuse the perimeter of a nuke plant with pain rays, for instance, so no saboteurs can approach) or even military vehicles (imagine a lower-intensity rotating beam mounted on a Bradley or humvee to keep crowds back).
But here’s the question: Could a person simply cloak themselves in mylar (or aluminum foil, if you’re on a budget) in order to stop the beams and remain in the area? Have the tinfoil-hat types finally been proven right?
Have we any proof that it doesn’t cause permanent damage to the cornea of a victims eye should they look min the direction of the ray?
Milimeter wavelengths is going to be somewhere in far infrared or near microwave in the tetrahertz region.
Wikipedia says they will penatrate non-conducting material, so clothing alone may not be protection from this ray.
I’m wondering if a modern “suit of armor” (perhaps “shark mail” … or maybe thin metal plating over traditional infantry body armor) would be the natural defense.
Conductive armor may offer some protection, but since this ir radiation, it will still affect those parts of the bosy not covered, and will reflect into crevices, nooks, etc. Unless you go stomping around in a full-scale firefighters suit made of aluminium, I don’t think you will be able to block the ray. Since people in such suits are rather conspicuous…
