Microwave Ray Gun Turns Off Car Engines From a Distance

Is it safe to shoot microwave radiation at people? Especially for the through-the-wall thing, which will be used indescriminantly of crime.

Another great weapon for terrorists. Now they don't even need explosives.

I wouldnt want to be in the helicopter when there is a backfire.

I think the pulse duration is VERY short -- like maybe milliseconds, so the risk to people is pretty low.

It's a good idea that's been ripe for development for a long time. Yeah, there is the potential for some mayhem if (when) the devices fall into the wrong hands. Not developing it will just mean somebody else does, though... Think of the pfun hackerz will have when somebody cooks up a homebrew version!

Wow, you'd have to be a rocket scientist to figure out how to put a $3 Faraday cage over your car's electronic to be able to stop that.

while the faraday cage idea is true, quite often people are fleeing in car-jacked cars with seconds to spare.

Not cool.

say no to cannibalism

Yeah, even with a 1ms pulse time, a microwave pulse strong enough to disable a car's engine from appreciable distances will harm people. Even if the rays only penetrate the skin, in 10 years, that's skin cancer.

ugh
thats just scary
im not sure why but this disturbed me

Yea, and, like , you have a pacemaker. Or a digital camera that might get fried? This is one of those things tht might sound OK on paper, but is phenomenally stupid in real life, like the Taser.

You guys with the Faraday cage idea are talking out your asses. Yes, you can put a tin foil hat around the vehicle's ECM (engine control module) itself, but there are dozens (often well over 100 nowadays) wires going into and out of that ECM from all over the car. Add to it the other 3, 5, or 10 control modules on the vehicle all linked through a CAN bus and it will be pretty difficult to make your vehicle immune. The pulse only needs to be strong enough to burp the controller a little -- the engine won't run on its own like cars of old or your weedwacker. Haven't you ever had your PC reset on a slight power droop or surge?

@Sid Morrison

Luckily, my ass has a PhD, so I'll stick to my first post.

But even Gomer could figure this one out. For your criminal type activity - or just for those days when you want to have some fun out running Boss Hog - use a car with a carburetor instead of FI's (and maybe that trunk mounted SAM).

@ Vonskippy-
Yes, as long as the crooks are driving a non-computer controlled car, the device should be ineffective. But isn't just the fuel system that will need to be old-tech -- you'll need a non-electronic ignition system, which takes you back a long ways. Your Phd ass may recall that fuel, air, AND SPARK are needed for combustion. Anyone watching helicopter chase scenes will observe that '69 Chargers don't pop up all that often.

If the car is already running why do you need an ignition system? Just asking..

Because the ignition system keeps the spark plugs sparkin'.

@jan-
PetShark is right, but to elaborate a little... I think you are either more familiar with diesel engines (which indeed don't use sparkplugs!), or are mixing up the car's starter (powerful little electric motor that spins the engine over while you "crank" it) with ignition system (fires spark plugs to light the gasoline-air mixture.

The concept behind disabling vehicles ( or any form of electronics) works behind the idea of interfering with a system that uses pulses to operate ( like a digitally driven controller, you cars computer) as far as other components of a car like the starter or distributor, most of those systems run off flat 12v DC. DC operated systems are immune to such microwave interferance due to the fact that Microwaves (waves = AC = Alternating current ahh get it?) will totally put apperant "1"s and "0"s where there not suppost to be. In the case of DC, well, unless you can try to flip 650amps at 12v from a distance, your '69 GTO full of washed up rap stars on cocaine is safe.

Nice posts ladies & gentlemen; I especially like K's (Dec 10th 2007) stand against cannibalism! I hear that alien's have this task solved. Their UFO beams can stop any old or new car! I know because it happened to my mate Dave when he was driving home from a rave party at 5am last Sunday; and he drives a 77 Ford!

hey guys, i need a little help...who can tell me the details of the microwave penetration stuff(just like focus the wave into a beam or ray)? i would like some info about it ...prefer details one..thank