Nazi Germany created many unusual, horrific weapons during World War II. One incredible weapon, however, failed to materialize. What was the Nazi Sun Gun? The Birth of the Nazi Sun Gun? In 1929, a German physicist named Hermann Oberth wrote Wege zur Raumschiffahrt (Translation: Ways to Spaceflight). The book described Oberth’s vision of a manned…
On March 17, 1953, the U.S. military detonated an experimental nuclear weapons test. This test, part of Operation Upshot-Knothole, was designed to calm public fears about such weapons. The raw footage of this test was recently discovered. What does a nuclear weapons test sound like? What was the Operation Upshot-Knothole Nuclear Weapons Test? Operation Upshot…
Not to be outdone by DARPA’s never-ending list of sci-fi projects, the U.S. Army has decided to step up its game. In the next five years, it plans to spend $4 million in taxpayer funds in order to develop real-life telepathy. Synthetic Telepathy? The U.S. Army’s version of telepathy is called Synthetic Telepathy. It bears…
The other day, the U.S. military unveiled the newest weapon in its arsenal…Active Denial System. The Active Denial System emits invisible electromagnetic beams of intense heat, intended to disperse unruly crowds. In other words, it’s a massive heat gun. The Active Denial System: America’s Heat Gun? The Active Denial System heat gun is a nonlethal…
DARPA-employed researchers are at it again. A few months back, they were trying to predict future crimes. Then they were building invisibility cloaks and creating battlefield illusions. Now, they’ve created a robotic Cheetah capable of running at 18mph, making it the “fastest legged robot” in history. The DARPA Cheetah: A Real-Life Transformer? Of course, Cheetah would…
Those wacky folks at DARPA are at it again. DARPA & Real Life Battlefield Illusions? Not satisfied with creating invisibility cloaks or predicting future crimes, DARPA has turned its attention to a new project called “Battlefield Illusion.” The idea is to create hallucinations during military engagements that “manage the adversary’s sensory perception.” Here’s more on…
The world is full of strange “future weapons.” But is it ready for self-steering bullets, capable of hitting targets over a mile away? Future Weapons: A Bullet that Steers Itself? So, what kind of future weapons is the world ready for? Is it ready for self-steering bullets, capable of hitting targets over a mile away? The military…
Will soldiers of the future eschew bulletproof vests for bulletproof skin? Will Soldiers of the Future have Bulletproof Skin? By integrating spider silk into human skin cells, researchers have developed human tissue that can withstand a bullet (okay, a bullet fired at half-speed). Still, it’s a pretty impressive achievement. Here’s more on this new bulletproof…