# data[].attributes.headline
Elon Musk Just LAUNCHED The World’s First Military Force Field!

# data[].attributes.subject
Elon Musk Just LAUNCHED The World’s First Military Force Field!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Elon Musk Just LAUNCHED The World’s First Military Force Field!

# data[].attributes.headline
Boeing patent reveals plans for Star Trek-style FORCE FIELD: Device would protect vehicles and buildings from explosion shockwaves

# data[].attributes.subject
Boeing patent reveals plans for Star Trek-style FORCE FIELD: Device would protect vehicles and buildings from explosion shockwaves

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Boeing patent reveals plans for Star Trek-style FORCE FIELD: Device would protect vehicles and buildings from explosion shockwaves

Boeing granted patent for device to shields vehicles against shockwaves

The device uses sensors to detect an explosion and anticipate blastwave

An 'arc generator' uses lasers, microwaves or electric current to ionise the air in front of the shockwave so that it deflects and reflects the energy

The arc of ionised gas - or plasma - would also absorb shockwave energy

Boeing says it can protect tanks, buildings, ships, aircraft and submarines

A force field that can protect vehicles from the destructive blastwaves thrown out by explosions has been development by aircraft manufacturer Boeing.

The company has been granted a patent for a device that appears to work like the fictional shields seen in science fiction movies like Star Wars and Star Trek.

The system works by using an 'arc generator' to rapidly heat the air in front of a shockwave creating a cloud of electrically charged gas.

This, Boeing says, creates a buffer that can refract, deflect and absorb the energy contained within the shockwave.

They say the device could be mounted on vehicles such as tanks and armoured personnel carriers, buildings, aircraft, ships and submarines.

THE ARMOUR THAT CAN REPEL FIRE

They claim the device could work both in the air and underwater, helping to protect assets from rockets, landmines, torpedoes and Improvised Explosive Devices.

Writing in the patent, Boeing said: 'The majority of the damage caused by explosive devices results from shrapnel and shockwaves.

'Damage from shrapnel may be prevented by, for example, physical barriers. 'Shockwaves are travelling discontinuities in pressure, temperature, density and other physical qualities through a medium such as the ambient atmosphere.

'Shockwave damage is more difficult to prevent because shockwaves can traverse an intermediate medium including physical barriers.

'Damage from shockwaves may be lessened or prevented by interposing an attenuating material between the shockwave source and the object to be protected.'

Blastwaves thrown out from explosions often cause more widespread damage than the immediate blast area, often structural damage to vehicles and buildings.

The high pressures and temperatures created by shockwaves can also cause secondary explosions.

Recent research has also shown that blastwaves can cause devastating internal injuries to soldiers, particularly when in the enclosed space of a vehicle.

Boeing's patent proposes using sensors that can detect the light or other electromagentic radiation - such as microwaves or infrared light - thrown out by explosion.

This would then trigger an 'arc generator' to produce a temporary force field between the vehicle or building and the advancing shockwave.

It says this could be created using lasers or microwaves to rapidly heat the air in front of the vehicle to produce an area of electrically charged gas, or plasma.

This change in medium would interfere with the oncoming shockwave and help to deflect its force from hitting the vehicle, says Boeing.

It also claims that the arc generator could create a powerful electric current within just a few milliseconds to create an electric art through the air.

This would heat the gas and change its density to interfere with the path of the shockwave.

Boeing also proposes that the arc generator could be a gun that fires multiple pellets on converging paths, leaving a trail of ions in their wake like tracer bullets.

These would form conductive channels through the air through which a voltage could be traced.

It also says the arc generator could also fire projectiles training conductive wires that would also heat the air to create a medium that would remove energy from the shockwave.

The patent said: 'When the shockwave created by an explosion reaches the arc, the shockwave deforms the arc in directions perpendicular to the conductive channels.

'Specifically the shockwave pushes the ionised air created by or making up the arc inward and the current tends to flow where the air is ionised.

'This movement by the shockwave may do mechanical work against the magentic field force and remove energy from the shockwave making it weaker.'

It also says that by forming the shield in the shape of a convex lens, it can deflect the energy from the shockwave.

As the density of the charged air in the forcefield is different from the surrounding air it would also cause the shockwave to be refracted.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Boeing patent 'Star Trek' forcefield to protect against shockwaves

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Boeing granted patent for device to shields vehicles against shockwaves The device uses sensors to detect an explosion and anticipate blastwave An 'arc generator' uses lasers, microwaves or electric current to ionise the air in front of the shockwave so that it deflects and reflects the energy The arc of ionised gas - or plasma - would also absorb shockwave energy Boeing says it can protect tanks, buildings, ships, aircraft and submarines A force field that can protect vehicles from the destructive blastwaves thrown out by explosions has been development by aircraft manufacturer Boeing.

# data[].attributes.headline
Star Trek-style force-field armour being developed by military scientists

# data[].attributes.subject
Star Trek-style force-field armour being developed by military scientists

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A space-age "force field" capable of protecting armoured vehicles and tanks by repelling incoming fire is being developed by British military scientists.

The new type of armour will use pulses of electrical energy to repel rockets, shrapnel and other ammunition that might damage a vehicle.

Researchers at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), which is the research and development arm of the Ministry of Defence, claim it is possible to incorporate material known as supercapacitors into armour of a vehicle to turn it into a kind of giant battery.

When a threat from incoming fire is detected by the vehicle, the energy stored in the supercapacitor can be rapidly dumped onto the metal plating on the outside of the vehicle, producing a strong electromagnetic field.

Scientists behind the project claim this would produce a momentary "force field" capable of repelling the incoming rounds and projectiles.

Although it would last for only a fraction of a second, if timed correctly it could prevent rocket propelled grenades, which detonate on impact, from reaching their target. The supercapacitor could then be rapidly recharged ready for another attack.

The idea is similar to the force fields portrayed in science fiction movies which produce an invisible protective shell around a vehicle or object.

Professor Bryn James, head of Dstl's armour and protection science and technology centre, said the electric armour had the potential to dramatically decrease the weight of military vehicles and tanks.

Currently few tanks are able to carry enough armour needed to resist impacts from RPG rounds, which produce jets of molten copper capable of punching through more than foot of solid steel upon impact.

He said: "The supercapacitor material can be charged up and then discharged in one powerful event to repel incoming fire.

"You would think this would require huge amounts of energy, but we have found it can be done with surprisingly small amounts of electrical power.

"Conventional armour is just a lump of metal but an RPG round can punch through more than a foot of steel. Carrying around enough armour to protect against that is extremely heavy.

"The real advantage to the electric armour is how light it can be by comparison."

Sophisticated tracking systems will also need to be developed to work in conjunction with the new armour so that incoming threats can be identified and the electrical discharge timed correctly to repel the rocket.

It is unlikely that such a system would be used against fire from small arms as the outer skin can be made to be bullet proof.

Armour piercing rounds, RPGs and "shaped charge" roadside bombs pose a far greater threat to armoured vehicles and tanks as it is not possible to put enough armour plating on all parts of the vehicle to protect it completely.

The comparatively lightweight electric armour, however, could be used to protect the entire outer shell of a vehicle by using a thin cloth-like flexible supercapacitor material.

This can be used to form a lining beneath the armour that turns the vehicle into a giant battery pack.

An early incarnation of a different type of electric armour technology has already been trailed by Dstl.

It used several layers of metal which have electric current flowing through them.

When an RPG round penetrates the outer layer, it completes the electrical circuit creating a highly electrically charged field between the layers.

This charged field vaporises the copper jet that shoots out from the front of the RPG warhead, preventing it from penetrating the inner hull of the vehicle and keeping the soldiers inside safe.

At a test in 2002, senior British Army officers saw the chassis of a Warrior infantry carrier, which was fitted with the early electric armour, survive repeated attack by RPGs before being driven away with only minor damage.

Scientists from Dstl outlined their plans to use this technology at an MoD showcase of military technology last week.

The MoD has tasked Dstl with reducing the weight of armoured vehicles by 70 per cent over the next decade in a bid to improve speed and manoeuvrability.

Dstl has also developed an experimental armour steel that is covered in holes known as Super Bainite, which could also be used on vehicles.

Scientists found they could double the ballistic performance of the armour by introducing the holes to the steel, while halving its weight.

Professor Peter Brown, who headed the Dstl team that developed Super Bainite, said: "This is because when a bullet hits, it's always near to the edge of a hole.

"This causes the bullet to topple over, turning it from a sharp projectile to a blunt fragment which is easier to stop."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Star Trek-style force-field armour being developed by military scientists

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A space-age "force field" capable of protecting armoured vehicles and tanks by repelling incoming fire is being developed by British military scientists. The new type of armour will use pulses of electrical energy to repel rockets, shrapnel and other ammunition that might damage a vehicle.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Scientists understood why forces acted the way they did when objects touched. The idea that confused them was forces that acted at a distance without touching. Think of examples such as gravitational force, electric force, and magnetic force. To help them explain what was happening, they used the idea of " field". They imagined that there was an area around the object, and anything that entered would feel a force. We say, for example, that the Moon has a gravitational field around it, and if you get close to the Moon, it will pull you down to its surface.

An electric field describes the funky area near any electrically-charged object. Scientists don't use the word "funky", but it works. It could also be called an electrostatic field. Any other charge that enters that area will feel a force, and the original object will also feel that force ( Newton's Third Law). It's kind of like a spider sitting at the center of a web.

A normal field is a vector, and is represented by arrows. The Earth's (or any planet's) gravitational field would be drawn as arrows pointing toward the ground. A field vector shows the direction of the effect on an object entering the field. Gravity acts downward.

For an electric field, things are a little more complicated, since there are two kinds of charges, and some combinations attract while others repel. In order to be in agreement with each other, physicists decided that they would always use positive charges to determine the direction of the effect of a field. So, if the central charge was positive, and you put another positive charge near it, that second charge would be repelled outward. So the field vectors for a central positive charge point outward. If the central charge is negative, a positive charge placed nearby would be attracted toward the center charge, so the field vectors for a central negative charge point inward.

Since fields are directly related to the forces they exert, their strength decreases with distance, and increases with the size of the charge producing the field. When you put charges near one another, their fields interact and change shape. This results in changes in the PE of the objects, and generates forces of repulsion or attraction.

Electric fields can also be created by magnetic fields. Magnetism and electricity are always connected. We'll talk about magnetic fields in the next section.

Or search the sites for a specific topic.

History of Electricity (NASA/WhyFiles Video)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Scientists understood why forces acted the way they did when objects touched. The idea that confused them was forces that acted at a distance without touching. Think of examples such as gravitational force, electric force, and magnetic force. To help them explain what was happening, they used the idea of " field".

# data[].attributes.headline
Manufacturing Minute: A Star Wars–Like Force Field For Military Tanks

# data[].attributes.subject
Manufacturing Minute: A Star Wars–Like Force Field For Military Tanks

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Manufacturing Minute:  A Star Wars–Like Force Field For Military Tanks

# data[].attributes.headline
The Invisible Woman - Susan Storm and her Force Fields

# data[].attributes.subject
The Invisible Woman - Susan Storm and her Force Fields

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Powers of Susan Richards, the Invisible Woman (Fantastic Four vol.1 #358) The Invisible Woman received her powers when cosmic rays bombarded her body. Mr. Fantastic suspects that Sue Storm somehow...

# data[].attributes.headline
Force fields could be the next big battlefield innovation

# data[].attributes.subject
Force fields could be the next big battlefield innovation