The Long, Weird History of Strobe Weapons
An odyssey from vomit flashlights to paralysis rays to amnesia beams.
By David Hambling
Feb 11, 2019
The year is 212 B.C.E. The legend goes that Greek mathematician Archimedes, in an attempt to fight off a Roman invasion fleet, used a giant parabolic mirrors to concentrate sunlight on enemy ships, hoping to set them on fire. It is perhaps the earliest recorded attempt to weaponize light—though like many of the attempts to come, it would not be successful. Archimedes died shortly after the Romans took the city.
In the two millennia since, humans have been seeking new way to harness the power of light and use it against one another. Most of these sci-fi-inspired contraptions take the form of direct energy weapons (think laser weapons). Some, like last week's latest report of a Russian weapon that “induces hallucinations and vomiting,†attempts to harness the power of strobe.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a26253652/history-strobe-weapons/
