Boeing's Patented Farce Field

erco

Hmmm.......true life smoke & mirrors. http://www.cnet.com/news/boeing-patents-star-wars-style-force-fields/

Because this system heats and ionises the air, it is eminently unsuitable for enveloping a target and being held in place for any length of time. That kind of force field is technically feasible -- physics students last year determined that an electromagnetic field could by used to hold a plasma shield in place -- but it would likely also deflect light, leaving anyone inside blind as a bat.

Buck Rogers

Erco track down the specs on the cloaking device of Star Trek's fame. Sadly it does the same thing. That's why the Romulans worked their tails off to see where they are going. It didn't get any better by the time of ST:TNG by the way or the later ones.....

Also see if the idea works for you from Star Wars.....


Oddly enough a plane configured to be stealth qualified shows up if at all as a bird on our radar and is typically ignored. But I grok your cynicism


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Beau Schwabe

"...leaving anyone inside blind as a bat" - That's just a side effect, haven't we all been conditioned by all of the drug commercials and the horrific side effects that accompany them? I expect nothing less from a force field like this ... carry on.

Gadgetman

How long does the blindness last?

If this really can block most of the shockwave of an explosion, it probably doesn't matter if it causes a short blindness in the optical spectrum.

Todays military vehicles are getting more and more networked, after all.

Mark_T

A water spray is cheaper and probably more effective - just not fast enough to deploy.
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF02699393#page-1