In the nineteenth century, there were many prodigious inventors. One of them believed in inventing weapons of warfare and wanted them for pacifist uses. He was Alfred Nobel (21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896), nicknamed “the merchant of death” in an obituary published in error. I wonder if he would turn in his grave if he were to witness the power packed in directed-energy weapons, or weapons of warfare that use light and electromagnetic radiation to produce their powerful devastating impact. Some call them laser weapons.
It is no longer news that laser weapons are now commonplace in military research. What makes news is when they are made deadlier, more portable, more efficient and more affordable.
Introducing ATHENA (Advanced Test High Energy Asset), a directed energy prototype, developed by Lockheed Martin; a 30 kilowatt single-mode fiber weapon system. From a distance of a mile (1.6km) it reduced the engine of a car to flames.
Imagine the power packed behind the ATHENA fiber optic laser system!Photo credit: www.ibtimes.com
A mile is just a distance for the prototype. ATHENA can go farther and its uses can go furthest, even beyond the military.
The potentialities for such portable weapons is beyond the imagination. Sci-fi and Dr. Who will be shows of the past. Welcome to the real world. The same way guns replaced knives and arrows, these weapons could be the weapons of the streets of the future.
It’s sad. 365 days after the disappearance of Malaysia airlines flight MH370, the report that was recently published offered no satisfactory answers. The locator beacon without a battery was a false hope indeed.
The emotion was touching. The sadness could be felt even when the victims were not related to you.
One of the posters, “Dad I miss you,” stirred a nerve in me.
In Nigeria, the Chibok girls abducted on April 14, 2014 have not yet been found. The President, Goodluck Jonathan, made a promise recently that the girls were safe. At the approach of another anniversary for dearly beloved missing persons, we could be faced with another false hope? Maybe, maybe not! I’d place my cards on the maybe.
If I was taking a trek to the mountains, going scuba diving, or visiting Northern Nigeria, I’d be wise to take along a personal locator beacon. Did you know locator beacons could also be fitted to one’s person?
I searched on Google and found some myself. Like this site that offers personal locator beacons for rent.
I was wondering: maybe the demand for locator beacons should be on the rise!
A friend once told me: “I’d rather an enemy I know than a friend whom I don’t trust.” Not the actual words but something along those principles.
Losing my teaching job a week ago, I thought up this cartoon on the way from an interview.
Photo credit: S.J. de Waard via Wikimedia CommonsSpeech bubbles created using Phrase It.
I still haven’t gone over the lose because I thought I was doing my best and didn’t deserve it.
Maybe I shouldn’t; I shouldn’t have been working the extra mile.
Maybe!
