Science fiction inspires DARPA weapon

[American Patriot]

Science fiction inspires DARPA weapon [Arthur C. Clark, firing molten metal via electromagnetism]
New Scientist ^ | April 22, 2008

The late Arthur C Clarke is famous for having popularised the geostationary communications satellite in 1945. Now the Pentagon's Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is working to turn one of his more dangerous ideas into reality.

Clarke's 1955 novel Earthlight climaxes in battle between a lunar fortress and three attacking spacecraft. At the height of the battle the defending commander unleashes "The Stiletto", which resembles "a solid bar of light" and pierces one spacecraft "as an entomologist pierces a butterfly with a pin."

Clarke's Stiletto is actually: "a jet of molten metal, hurled through space at several hundred kilometres per second by the most powerful electro-magnets ever built."

Now DARPA are working on a weapon called MAHEM - Magneto Hydrodynamic Explosive Munition - that uses the same principle as Clarke's fictional device.

Using magnetic fields it will propel either a narrow jet of molten metal or a chunk of molten metal that morphs into an aerodynamic slug during flight. Unlike Clarke's Stiletto, they will come from a device that generates a powerful electromagnetic field from an explosion, not giant capacitors.

The concept resembles existing weapons which use an explosive charge to squirt out a jet of high-velocity molten metal on impact. Known as High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT), this type of round has been widely used since the WWII bazooka.

Like HEAT devices, MAHEM is currently envisaged as something delivered by a warhead rather than a cannon: "MAHEM could be packaged into a missile, projectile or other platform and delivered close to target for final engagement and kill," says DARPA.

(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...

[American Patriot]

This is my 6000th post on this site. Unfortunately, the majority of them are news articles, so I can't really say I've don't a lot of posting here. I had well over 6k posts on Anomalies and many of them were written by me.

I've tried hard to avoid some of the problems that cropped up on Anomalies, and Ryan and everyone else has stomped trolls before I get the chance, thus keeping me from the Fray.

Anyway, in honor of the 6000th post, I posted the above message and I'm going to make a strong prediction...

If America survives the next decade we are going to be stepping into the realm of "Science Fiction becomes Fact" on many, many other things, including space warfare, contact with alien intelligences and so on. I say this, because it is "time".

If, like many believe, we've been visited in the past by alien lifeforms, they are just biding their time and will again visit us soon enough. I really believe that Roddenberry had it right on Star Trek and it was the "discovery of the Warp Drive" that triggered First Contact.

We will see, I think it will be in my lifetime.

But, we will also see terrible war in space before that happens.

Rick