From a lions roar to the shake of a rattle snake’s tail, nature has evolved was of implementing sonics in matters of defence, dominance and survival. Early man picked up similar habits and war cries were used to strike fear into enemies. In this basic form, sounds are predominately used to express power and strength or to elicit memories of past bad experiences. A notable cinematic representation of this in recent times is Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore’s use of Ride of the Valkyries in Apocalypse Now. In the modern world sonic warfare has become much more advanced. Certain developments of this technology have even found their way into everyday life. Many pest or animal control systems will use high frequency sounds to deter rats from entering buildings or to subdue an unruly dog; doing so in a way where the frequency used will cause physical pain to its subjects. All though these technologies were originally intended for use on animals, similar systems have also been used on humans. Many police forces and militaries will use high frequency crowd control weapons to disperse groups of hooligans or protesters for example. Although these weapons are advancing from the primitive war cry they are still preying on the ears of the intended victims.

Vortex Ring Gun

Other weapons have been developed which utilise sound in very different ways. The Vortex Ring Gun fires a high speed pressurised vortex ring. In early stages of development the ring was capable of knocking over a fully grown man at a distance of 10m, with some sources now saying that the gun utilised in quick succession and hence creating a resonating wave can shatter bones and even collapse vital organs. The gun has also been used as a means of firing a localised airborne sedative and is being tested for use in hostage situations. Strangely some Japanese monks believe they have already mastered this technique and claim to be able to to level an opponent with a single shout. Other weapons which capitalise on the destabilising properties associated with natural resonance are in the development stages. Tests have already been carried out on powerful low frequency speakers capable of collapsing bridges and buildings. On a more science fiction tip developers have been working with focused ‘beams’ of sound, similar to lasers which can liquify living tissue! When researching this area we stumbled across stories of a notable club sound-system designer who during the Vietnam war was involved in the creation of a highly secretive weapons system. The device used a high frequency sound emitter and would melt the glue holding the cornea to iris of the victims eyes as it was flown over enemy territory rendering the victims completely blind and therefore neutralised. For certain reasons we feel it is best for you to do your own research into this.

Underwater, sound acts very differently and as always we are playing catch-up with nature. The Tiger Pistol Shrimp uses acoustic cavitation to focus sound waves which will stun and kill prey. Similar techniques are being researched by Navies world wide for boat protection and anti frogman techniques. Again in development stages, techniques are being investigated for using sound to disrupt enemy torpedoes and navigation systems.

Of course there are less sophisticated ways that sound has been used by the authorities in matters of policing. Certain local authorities in Britain which have been plagued by antisocial behavior from the ASBO generation have reacted to the lack of help from the police by taking matters into their own hands. Local loitering hot-spots for these youths include supermarkets, corner shops, bus stations, etc and instead of incurring the extra cost of security guards these establishments have been encouraged to play music unbefitting of today’s hoodlums. One popular choice which has shown great successes was Britney Spears which the trouble makers apparently found unlistenable and had to move on. Perhaps there is hope yet for these reprobates.