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> What type of sonic weapon could engender that kind of harm? > Although low-frequency infrasound systems can “silently” cause a wide range of symptoms in huma
by mhneu 9y ago
> What type of sonic weapon could engender that kind of harm?
> Although low-frequency infrasound systems can “silently” cause a wide range of symptoms in human targets – including fairly severe inner ear and even hair cell damage – the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) doesn’t suggest that any brain damage can be caused.
> High-frequency microwaves, however, could certainly cause brain damage without making a sound. If targeted at a person, small bursts could induce “shockwaves” in brain tissue, as well as the inner ear. Prolonged exposures could cause permanent damage.
I'm not sure exactly what is being discussed by this article which is thinly sourced.
However, it is true that _ultrasonic_ waves can change brain activity. It is typically difficult to couple ultrasonic waves to the head. We hear up to 20kHz. 100kHz is marginally attenuated by air. 1Mhz and above are highly attenuated by air, and that's why ultrasound imaging requires a gel to couple the ultrasound generator to your skin.
IF the article is correct that some kind of sonic weapon caused low-grade brain injury, perhaps it was a super-high-amplitude ultrasound in the 50-300kHz range?
- mhneu 9y agoUpdate: from the justsecurity article: >The Russian security services were also known to flood the U.S. embassy in Moscow with electromagnetic radiation. They would beam concentrated microwaves and electronic pulses at the Embassy in an attempt to eavesdrop on U.S. typewriters and conversations. If very high levels of microwaves were used, perhaps this could explain the injuries. Microwaves are electromagnetic, not acoustic, but they are absorbed very weakly by water. It could be that people were injured by heating inside their ears or brain.
- toomuchtodo 9y agoI'm curious if the US embassy performs signal intelligence or other broad spectrum EM monitoring of the embassy facility.
- zdkl 9y agoI'm not familiar with embassies specifically, but it stands to reason that some hold military grade communication hardware. Where that is the case, you can be pretty sure there's a squad of specialists nearby with all the antennas and diagnostic tools you can dream of. And that's not even accounting for the spooks.
- ju-st 9y agoSurely, considering they even listen to other communications from their own embassies: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/revealed-britains-secret-listening-post-in-the-heart-of-berlin-8921548.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/revealed-brit...
- nine_k 9y agoThis is because the US embassy in Moscow was bugged by a passive bug: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thing_(listening_device) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thing_(listening_device)