Sonic Weapons
Sonic weapons emit intense, precisely tuned acoustic energy to affect a target physiologically. Effects range from nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and discomfort to intense pain and deafness. This energy may be tightly focused to only affect a single person, or it can be broadly distributed to affect crowds. It may also be pulsed to create waves of sensations or continuous to induce prolonged suffering.
Common Uses
Sonic weapons are commonly used as a less-than-lethal alternative to subduing individuals and for crowd control in policing situations. They are also popular among civilians who desire a means of self protection - especially in states where lethal weapons are restricted. Sonic fields or screens, long and narrow areas of continuous sonic beams, often serve as security devices to deterant to intruders or as a means of restricting the movement of animals. While not a physical barrier, the discomfort associated with the field can incapacitate those who attempt to pass through it.Fire Modes
Like lasers, sonic weapons can be fired at different power levels or vibrate their focal apparatus to createa a scattergun effect. Many can also tune the frequency profile of their acoustic beams to create different physical effects. Depending on the locality, not all possible effects are permitted by the weapon's software; i.e., deafening targets may be inhibited, but wretching enabled. Some sonic weapons are designed to allow for both tightly focused beams used against individuals or widely dispersed beams for area denial and crowd control. Others are purpose-designed to only allow one of these options. Which is available is a matter of design - are the focusing components present and is the acoustic generator powerful enough to blanket a region rather than a person.Limitations
Sonic weapons require a medium through which to transmit their energy, e.g. air, water, etc. This makes them of little use in vacuum. Similarly, they have reduced effectiveness against those in sealed environmental suits like space suits. Furthermore, it is not difficult to insulate a suit against such attacks. All of this, combined with their less-than-lethal nature, makes sonic weapons ill suited for most military applications.Safety Concerns
Prolonged exposure to intense acoustic energy can cause permanent hearing loss or deafness. This makes it dangerous to use for prolonged periods of time on individuals, as may be done during interrogations or when trying to disperse people from an area. Despite these dangers, police still prefer screamers to electrolasers or lethal force.Table of Contents
Parent Technologies
General Information
Access & Availability
Sonic weapons are widely available self-defense weapons in all but the most restrictive societies, and are common among the police. While less often found in military arsenals, they do see limited use in the capture and abduction of targets by covert units.
Complexity
Precision sonic weapons require precise rangefinding and advanced computing to control the metamaterial lenses required for focusing their directed acoustic energy on a target. As a result, the Astrianic Church controls the manufacture of the key components that enable this technology. Wide-area sonic weapons requrie little more than specialized speakers, making them available without Astrianic oversight.
More Information
Sonic Weapons
Directed Energy Weapons
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