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1759-2208-2-1.pdf (application/pdf Object) Biology. Synthetic Biology. Chemistry. Chemistry. Physics. Physics. Mathematics. Home : Nature Photonics. Physics. Vortex Gun Fires Electrically Charged Gas Rings at 90 mph | Futuristic Firefighter Tools | Nonlethal Weapons | LiveScience. Vortex guns capable of firing doughnut-shaped rings of air have sat around as toys or oddball gadgets for years. Now a U.S. lab has added an extra kick with electrically charged rings that could clear out smoke-filled hallways for firefighters, or deliver clingy shots of tear gas or pepper spray without the need for accuracy. The vortex gun fires rings that reach a high speed of 90 mph upon exiting the muzzle and travel at 60 mph over more than 150 feet.

The rings revolve as they fly through the air, but remain calm within the interior — not unlike the eye of a hurricane — so that they can hold a cargo of nonlethal gas or electrically charged air right up until hitting a target. Having both a positive and negative charge can make tiny smoke particles clump up, fall out of the air like rain droplets and cling to surfaces, said Jim Dvorsky, product development leader at Battelle. A patent drawing of how a vortex gun would fire electrically charged rings of gas or air.CREDIT: Battelle. How to Build a Speech-Jamming Gun. The drone of speakers who won’t stop is an inevitable experience at conferences, meetings, cinemas, and public libraries.

Today, Kazutaka Kurihara at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tskuba and Koji Tsukada at Ochanomizu University, both in Japan, present a radical solution: a speech-jamming device that forces recalcitrant speakers into submission. The idea is simple. Psychologists have known for some years that it is almost impossible to speak when your words are replayed to you with a delay of a fraction of a second. Kurihara and Tsukada have simply built a handheld device consisting of a microphone and a speaker that does just that: it records a person’s voice and replays it to them with a delay of about 0.2 seconds.

The microphone and speaker are directional, so the device can be aimed at a speaker from a distance, like a gun. Their tests also identify some curious phenomena. That has important implications. PhysOrg.com - Science News, Technology, Physics, Nanotechnology, Space Science, Earth Science, Medicine.