High-Intensity Acoustics for Military Nonlethal Applications: A Lack of Useful Systems

High-Intensity Acoustics for Military Nonlethal Applications: A Lack of Useful Systems

There have been many previous claims of nonlethal acoustic weapon effects, mostly in the popular rather than the scientific literature. Anecdotal reports of extraordinary effects can make meaningful assessment and review of this area very difficult. Acoustics research has shown that the nonlethal weapon capabilities of audible sound generators have been grossly overstated. Although high-intensity infrasound significantly disrupted animal behavior in some experiments, the generation of such energy in a volume large enough to be of practical use is unlikely because of basic physical principles. On the basis of experimentation completed to date at a number of institutions, it seems unlikely that high-intensity acoustic energy in the audible, infrasonic, or low-frequency range can provide a device suitable for use as a nonlethal weapon.