Acoustic Weapons.pdf

Table of Contents

Abstract .................................................................... iii

Preface ..................................................................... iv

1. Introduction .............................................................1

1.1 Acoustic Weapons as Part of "Non-lethal" Weapons ..........................1

1.2 Some Historic Aspects of Acoustic Weapons ...............................3

1.3 Actual Developments ..................................................6

1.4 Goals of This Report ..................................................8

1.5 General Remarks on Acoustics ..........................................9

2. Effects of Strong Sound on Humans .........................................10

2.1 General Remarks on the Ear ............................................10

2.1.1 Hearing and Hearing Damage ........................................10

2.1.2 Vestibular System .................................................15

2.2 Effects of Low-Frequency Sound ........................................15

2.2.1 Hearing Threshold and Loudness Perception at Low Frequencies ............15

2.2.2 Low-Intensity Effects of Low-Frequency Sound ..........................16

2.2.3 High-Intensity Effects of Low-Frequency Sound .........................17

2.2.3.1 Effects on Ear and Hearing .......................................17

2.2.3.2 Effects on the Vestibular System ..................................18

2.2.3.3 Effects on the Respiratory Organs ..................................19

2.2.3.4 Other Effects ..................................................20

2.2.4 Vibration Considerations ............................................20

2.2.4.1 Effects of Whole-Body Vibration ..................................20

2.2.4.2 Vibration Due to Low-Frequency Sound ............................21

2.3 Effects of High-Intensity High-Frequency Audio Sound ......................21

2.3.1 Effects on Ear and Hearing ..........................................21

2.3.2 Non-Auditory Effects ...............................................24

2.4 Effects of High-Intensity Ultrasound .....................................27

2.4.1 Auditory Effects ...................................................27

2.4.2 Non-Auditory Effects ...............................................28

2.5 Impulse-Noise and Blast-Wave Effects ...................................28

2.5.1 Auditory Effects ...................................................30

2.5.2 Non-Auditory Effects ...............................................33

3. Production of Strong Sound ...............................................35

3.1 Sources of Low-Frequency Sound .......................................35

3.2 Acoustic Sources Potentially Usable for Weapons ..........................38

4. Protection from High-Intensity Sound, Therapy of Acoustic and Blast Trauma ........44

4.1 Protection from Sound ................................................44

4.2 Therapy of Acoustic and Blast Trauma ...................................45

5. Analysis of Specific Allegations with Respect to Acoustic Weapons ................46

5.1 Allegations Regarding Weapons Principles ................................46

5.1.1 Infrasound Beam from a Directed Source? ..............................46

5.1.2 Infrasound from Non-Linear Superposition of Two Directed Ultrasound Beams . 47

5.1.3 Diffractionless Acoustic "Bullets" .....................................49

5.1.4 Plasma Created in Front of Target, Impact as by a Blunt Object ..............52

5.1.5 Localized Earthquakes Produced by Infrasound ..........................53

5.2 Allegations Regarding Effects on Persons .................................53

6. Conclusions ............................................................55

6.1 Effects on Humans ...................................................55

6.2 Potential Sources of Strong Sound .......................................56

6.3 Propagation Problems .................................................56

6.4 Further Study .......................................................57

6.5 General Remarks ....................................................58

Appendices..................................................................60

A.1 Linear Acoustics .......................................................60

A.2 Non-Linear Acoustics—Weak-Shock Regime ................................64

A.3 Non-Linear Acoustics—Production of Difference Frequency, Demodulation ........68

A.4 Strong-Shock Regime ...................................................70

A.5 Infrasound Beam and Other Propagation Estimates ............................74

A.6 Infrasound from Non-Linear Superposition of Two Ultrasound Beams ............77

A.7 Plasma Created in Front of Target, Impact as by Blunt Object ...................79

Abstract

Acoustic weapons are under research and development in a few countries. Advertised as

one type of non-lethal weapons, they are said to immediately incapacitate opponents while avoid-

ing permanent physical damage. Reliable information on specifications or effects is scarce, how-

ever. The present report sets out to provide basic information in several areas: effects of large-

amplitude sound on humans, potential high-power sources, and propagation of strong sound.

Concerning the first area, it turns out that infrasound—prominent in journalistic

articles—does not have the alleged drastic effects on humans. At audio frequencies, annoyance,

discomfort and pain are the consequence of increasing sound pressure levels. Temporary

worsening of hearing may turn into permanent hearing loss depending on level, frequency,

duration, etc.; at very high sound levels, even one or a few short exposures can render a person

partially or fully deaf. Ear protection, however, can be quite efficient in preventing these effects.

Beyond hearing, some disturbance in balance, and intolerable sensations, mainly in the chest, can

occur. Blast waves from explosions with their much higher overpressure at close range can

damage other organs, at first the lungs, with up to lethal consequences.

For strong sound sources, sirens and whistles are the most likely sources. Powered, e.g.,

by combustion engines, these can produce tens of kilowatts of acoustic power at low frequencies,

and kilowatts at high frequencies. Up to megawatt power is possible using explosions. For

directed use the size of the source needs to be on the order of 1 meter, and proportionately-sized

power supplies would be required.

Propagating strong sound to some distance is difficult, however. At low frequencies, dif-

fraction provides spherical spreading of energy, preventing a directed beam. At high frequencies,

where a beam is possible, non-linear processes deform sound waves to a shocked, sawtooth form,

with unusually high propagation losses if the sound pressure is as high as required for marked

effects on humans. Achieving sound levels that would produce aural pain, balance problems, or

other profound effects seems unachievable at ranges above about 50 m for meter-size sources.

Inside buildings, the situation is different, especially if resonances can be exploited.

Acoustic weapons would have much less drastic consequences than the recently banned

blinding laser weapons. On the other hand, there is a greater potential for indiscriminate effects

due to beam spreading. Because in many situations acoustic weapons would not offer radically

improved options for military or police, in particular if opponents use ear protection, there may

be a chance for preventive limits. Since acoustic weapons could come in many forms for

different applications, and because blast weapons are widely used, such limits would have to be

graduated and detailed.

iii

Preface

This study was begun during a one-month research stay in November 1997 at the Peace

Studies Program of Cornell University, Ithaca NY, USA. It was finished in spring 1998 at

Experimentelle Physik III, Dortmund University, Germany.

I should like to thank the Peace Studies Program of Cornell University, in particular

Judith Reppy, for inviting me as a guest researcher. I am also grateful to the John D. and

Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Chicago IL, USA, for providing the funds for the Technical

Arms Control Project of the Peace Studies Program which financed my stay at Cornell

University, and to the Ministry of Science and Research of the State of Nordrhein-Westfalen,

Germany for granting funds to Universität Dortmund for a project on preventive arms control for

new weapons technologies under which I finished this study. Finally, thanks go to Franz Fujara

of Experimentelle Physik 3, Universität Dortmund, for acting as an applicant and supporting

scientific-technical research of disarmament problems.

Jürgen Altmann

April 1999

Jürgen Altmann is with Experimentelle Physik, Universität Dortmund, D-44221 Dortmund,

Germany and Bochum Verification Project, Institut für Experimentalphysik III, Ruhr-Universität

Bochum, D-44780 Bochum, Germany.

1. Introduction 1

1.1 Acoustic Weapons as Part of "Non-lethal" Weapons

Since the early 1990s there has been an increasing interest—mainly in the United

States—in so-called non-lethal weapons (NLW) which are intended to disable equipment or

personnel while avoiding or minimizing permanent and severe damage to humans. NLW are

thought to provide new, additional options to apply military force under post-Cold War

conditions, but they may also be used in a police context. Whereas some foresee a military

augment lethal weapons, arguing that in actual war both types would be used in sequence or in

parallel. However, there may be situations other than war when having more options of applying

force below the threshold of killing could help prevent or reduce deaths, e.g., in a police context

Science and Global Security , 1999.

A condensed version of this report appears in J. Altmann, "Acoustic Weapons—A Prospective Assessment,"

The following articles and books give an overview of various problems of non-lethal weapons and provide many

references: R. Span, J. Altmann, G. Hornig, T. Krallmann, M. Rosario Vega Laso, and J. Wüster, "'Non-lethal'

Weapons—Fantasy or Prospect of More Humane Use of Force?" (in German), Dossier Nr. 17, Wissenschaft und

Frieden (June 1994); R. Kokoski, "Non-lethal Weapons: A Case Study of New Technology Developments," in

SIPRI Yearbook 1994: World Armaments and Disarmament (Stockholm/Oxford: SIPRI/Oxford University Press,

1994), pp. 367-86; S. Aftergood, "The Soft-Kill Fallacy," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (September/October

1994), pp. 40-45; A. Roland-Price, "Non-Lethal Weapons: A Synopsis," in "Improving the Prospects for Future

International Peace Operations—Workshop Proceedings," U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, OTA-

BP-ISS-167 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, September 1995); J. Altmann, "'Non-Lethal'

Weapons," 46th Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs, Lahti, Finland, 2-7 September 1996 (to be

published in Security, Cooperation and Disarmament: The Unfinished Agenda for the 1990s [Singapore: World

Scientific]) M. Dando, A New Form of Warfare—The Rise of Non-Lethal Weapons (London and Washington:

Brassey’s, 1996); N. Lewer and S. Schofield, Non-Lethal Weapons: A Fatal Attraction? Military Strategies and

Technologies for 21st-Century Conflict (London and Atlantic City, NJ: Zed Books, 1997).

There are not many systematic and comprehensive publications by proponents of non-lethal weapons. The

following references give some examples of proponents’ writing: "Nonlethality: A Global Strategy Whitepaper"

(Washington, DC: U.S. Global Strategy Council, 1992); J.B. Alexander, "Nonlethal Weapons and Limited Force

Options," presented to Council of Foreign Relations, New York, 27 October 1993; Milt Finger, "Technologies to

Support Peacekeeping Operations," in U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment (ibid.); G. Yonas, "The

Role of Technology in Peace Operations," in U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment (ibid.); C. Morris, J.

Morris, and T. Baines, "Weapons of Mass Protection—Nonlethality, Information Warfare, and Airpower in the Age

of Chaos," Airpower Journal 9 (1) (Spring 1995), pp. 15-29; D.A. Morehouse, Nonlethal Weapons—War Without

Death (Westport, CT and London: Praeger, 1996).

For a balanced view from inside the U.S. military, see J.W. Cook, III, D.P. Fiely, and M.T. McGowan,

"Nonlethal Weapons—Technologies, Legalities, and Potential Policies," Airpower Journal 9 (Special Issue) (1995),

pp. 77-91.

NLW developments for law-enforcement purposes are presented in considerable detail, e.g., in J.

Alexander, D.D. Spencer, S. Schmit, and B.J. Steele (eds.), Security Systems and Nonlethal Technologies for Law

Enforcement Proc. SPIE 2934 (1997).

Most of the information on non-lethal weapons comes from journalistic articles in the defense or general press.

Morehouse (note 2).

1993), pp. 44-50; Roland-Price (note 2).

E.g.: A.W. Debban, "Disabling Systems: War-Fighting Option for the Future," Airpower Journal 7 (1) (Spring

revolution and "war without death," most analyses predict or prescribe that NLW would just

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