What are sonic weapons?

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**Bababam** (0:19)
What are sonic weapons?
Thanks for asking. In June it emerged that Greek police had acquired two long-range acoustic devices designed to discourage migrants from approaching the country's border with Turkey. At the size of a small TV, the cannons don't look particularly threatening, but are capable of emitting powerful sound waves as loud as a jet plane.
An LRAD is an example of a sonic weapon, which is an umbrella term used to cover the many different types of acoustic harassment devices. They emit a particularly audible sound in a precise direction, making it very unpleasant for those who get close.
The use of LRADs has been a source of controversy in a number of scenarios. In addition to the pain and disorientation caused, their alert feature has been reported to cause lasting hearing damage. Wow, I never would have thought sound could be used as an offensive weapon. In what other scenarios are sonic weapons used? In reality, sound has been used in warfare for many decades. During the Second World War, Soviet troops kept siegeing German forces awake all night by playing Argentine Tango music through loudspeakers. Meanwhile, the US Army used music, insults and tank sounds to destabilise Viet Cong fighters during the Vietnam War. In modern times, sonic weapons have become more sophisticated. They are commonly used by law enforcement as a means of non-lethal force to disperse crowds, break up riots or defend themselves. LRADs made their debut in the United States in 2008 Protests occurred at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh and the city's police department put their sound cannon to use. As you can hear in this recording shared on YouTube by the Glass Bead Collective.
Canadian police forces were clearly impressed as they purchased similar sound cannons ahead of the G20 Summit in Toronto and the Vancouver Winter Olympics, which both took place in 2010 More recently still, sonic weapons have been repeatedly used against Black Lives Matter protesters. Is there anything peaceful protesters can do to protect themselves? It might sound like the stuff of science fiction, but two American audio engineers managed to create a sound defence shield last year. The idea came to them after seeing sonic weapons being used at demonstrations. The shield actually resembles a placard, so it doesn't look out of place. Furthermore, it can reflect the powerful waves generated by sound cannons. However, it weighs 50 pounds, making it somewhat challenging to carry around all day. The two engineers published their entire research online, helping activists to create their own self-defence shield.
There you have it. Now you know what sonic weapons are. In under three minutes, we answer your questions. What would you like to know about? Use the comment section to ask your questions on the podcast platform.

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