The E-bomb

First lines

DIRECTED ENERGY (DE) WEAPONS-lasers, high-power microwaves (HPMs), and particle beams-have come of age.

About this book

In science fiction, futuristic soldiers are often shown wielding light emitting weapons-Flash Gordon used a ray gun, Captain Kirk carried a phaser, and Darth Vader brandished a light saber. But, today, the imagined future of science fiction is soon to be a reality. After more than two decades of research, the United States is on the verge of deploying a new generation of weapons that discharge light-wave energy, the same spectrum of energy found in your microwave, or in your TV remote control. They're called "directed-energy weapons"-lasers, high-powered microwaves, and particle beams-and they signal a revolution in weaponry, perhaps, more profound than the atomic bomb. The first directed-energy (DE) weapons are being tested right now, and their deployment is planned in the very near future. In The E-Bomb, author J. Douglas Beason, Ph.D. and a leading U.S. expert in directed-energy research, will explain in clear and non technical prose these exotic new weapons and answer the questions that all Americans will ask: What is Directed Energy? How do DE weapons work? What can these DE weapons do? And are these weapons safe to use? As the once-imagined weapons of the future begin to appear on today's battlefields, the timely publication of The E-Bomb will help explain how and why the future is now.

Themes & subjects