Directed Energy Weapons
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Directed Enegry Weapons fire a beam of some frequency of the electromagnetic spectrum to some effect on the target. A flashlight directs light in the visible infared spectrums but it is such low power as to not be harmfull, though some searchlights are bright enough to cause permanent or temporary blindness. The term really applies to a field including high power lasers, microwave guns, or any device that can create and direct elctromagnetic radiation in such a way as to incaptaciate or damage the target. Some examples of directed energy weapons:

• The Lasers used in the various missle defense systems to destroy a missle by heating it up.
• A non-lethal weapon that disorients a target by shooting disorienting lighting patterns at the eyes.
• A device that causes nausea and disorientation by illumnating a person with certian frequencies and powers.
• A microwave gun, that fires a narrow spread of microwave radation capable of destroying electronics.

The principle drawback of directed weapons is high power consumption, limited range especially in inclement weather, and high production cost. Their future use in non-lethal weapon systems seem limited due to the generally perceived cruel nature of victim incapacitation. Some weapons of this type are already in testing for deployment as battlefield anti-missile weapons.

The original article can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directed_Energy_Weapons.
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