4 ms·

I’m not a smart guy, but I’m pretty sure microwaves don’t work like that through walls.

by bsagdiyev 6y ago

rkhassen9 6y ago
The kid could be on the porch.
- bsagdiyev 6y ago
  But the parent post specifically said in the living room.
  - happytoexplain 6y ago
    Literally true, but that isn't very charitable to the point they were making.
  - srtjstjsj 6y ago
    Window could be open.
staplers 6y ago
What about through windows? Screen doors? Front yards? Microwaving the plants and animals in my front yard seems like a violation of personal property. But laws are abstract and regularly unenforced so who knows.
- bsagdiyev 6y ago
  Sure, but I’m still sure microwaves don’t work that way through glass and especially not at the power these “less than lethal” weapons work at.
  - srtjstjsj 6y ago
    The term is "less lethal", not "less than lethal". Meaning they kill fewer people per use, not that they never kill people.
  - liability 6y ago
    I'm not sure how these particular devices work, "microwave" is anything from a meter to a millimeter which is a pretty broad range (300 MHz to 300 GHz.) Certainly some lengths of microwaves go through glass though, otherwise microwave ovens wouldn't have that metal mesh behind the glass window. Also I know that microwave ovens normally don't heat glass, which suggests to me they're either very reflective or very transparent to microwaves in the low GHz range. I've cooked enough food in glassware to think it must be the later. (Interestingly if you heat a small portion of glass to red hot with a torch before microwaving it, you can melt the entire piece of glass as the oven heats and spreads the hot spot.)
    - bsagdiyev 6y ago
      So these operate around 95ghz, roughly, from what I can gather. Sure you’ll get some window penetration but I still take issue with the “but the kids” tone of the OPs argument. I don’t agree with use of these weapons, having been on the receiving end of RF burns accidentally myself, but pretending it’s because you care about kids is sick and seems to be a default go-to for most things. If I’m not being charitable in my interpretation of OP, then roast me, but I get the feeling the sentiment isn’t particular about caring for kids and using it as a “but... but... but...” argument.
rsfern 6y ago
If the walls are metal, sure, but wood or glass isn’t likely to attenuate microwaves that much. Example: WiFi signals are transmitted on a microwave frequency (at low power compared to this device), and the signal propagates through ceilings and walls without much issue
- bsagdiyev 6y ago
  I take issue with that only due to the fact that WiFi doesn’t actually travel that well. If you are aiming one of these weapons at a wall, behind which there are people, from a distance of say 100 feet it isn’t very likely to penetrate and cause harm. Seeing as how these weapons operate at 95ghz, their penetration capability is basically nil. Attenuation is a real issue with that frequency and those distances. WiFi works on 2.4 and 5ghz which already have some issues with penetration.

I’m not a smart guy, but I’m pretty sure microwaves don’t work like that through walls.

rkhassen9 6y ago

The kid could be on the porch.

bsagdiyev 6y ago
But the parent post specifically said in the living room.
- happytoexplain 6y ago
  Literally true, but that isn't very charitable to the point they were making.
- srtjstjsj 6y ago
  Window could be open.

staplers 6y ago

What about through windows? Screen doors? Front yards? Microwaving the plants and animals in my front yard seems like a violation of personal property. But laws are abstract and regularly unenforced so who knows.

bsagdiyev 6y ago
Sure, but I’m still sure microwaves don’t work that way through glass and especially not at the power these “less than lethal” weapons work at.
- srtjstjsj 6y ago
  The term is "less lethal", not "less than lethal". Meaning they kill fewer people per use, not that they never kill people.
- liability 6y ago
  I'm not sure how these particular devices work, "microwave" is anything from a meter to a millimeter which is a pretty broad range (300 MHz to 300 GHz.) Certainly some lengths of microwaves go through glass though, otherwise microwave ovens wouldn't have that metal mesh behind the glass window. Also I know that microwave ovens normally don't heat glass, which suggests to me they're either very reflective or very transparent to microwaves in the low GHz range. I've cooked enough food in glassware to think it must be the later. (Interestingly if you heat a small portion of glass to red hot with a torch before microwaving it, you can melt the entire piece of glass as the oven heats and spreads the hot spot.)
  - bsagdiyev 6y ago
    So these operate around 95ghz, roughly, from what I can gather. Sure you’ll get some window penetration but I still take issue with the “but the kids” tone of the OPs argument. I don’t agree with use of these weapons, having been on the receiving end of RF burns accidentally myself, but pretending it’s because you care about kids is sick and seems to be a default go-to for most things. If I’m not being charitable in my interpretation of OP, then roast me, but I get the feeling the sentiment isn’t particular about caring for kids and using it as a “but... but... but...” argument.

rsfern 6y ago

If the walls are metal, sure, but wood or glass isn’t likely to attenuate microwaves that much. Example: WiFi signals are transmitted on a microwave frequency (at low power compared to this device), and the signal propagates through ceilings and walls without much issue

bsagdiyev 6y ago
I take issue with that only due to the fact that WiFi doesn’t actually travel that well. If you are aiming one of these weapons at a wall, behind which there are people, from a distance of say 100 feet it isn’t very likely to penetrate and cause harm. Seeing as how these weapons operate at 95ghz, their penetration capability is basically nil. Attenuation is a real issue with that frequency and those distances. WiFi works on 2.4 and 5ghz which already have some issues with penetration.