Boeing's force field patent
The Boeing Company has received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a device that generates a "force field" which deflects blasts from shells and explosive weapons.
Technically, the patent is for a "method and system for shockwave attenuation via electromagnetic arc". The device that will generate this force field only protects an American military vehicle from the deadly effects of the high pressure shockwave generated by a bomb blast. These shock waves can instantly kill persons by destroying their internal organs.
Most of the vehicles this device will be mounted on are expected to be armored and therefore hardened against the shrapnel and debris generated by an explosion.
The device is a sensor that triggers a laser which then heats up a section of air or water surrounding it. This action creates a "plasma shield" in between the explosion and the vehicle. The plasma shield's temperature and density deflect and absorb the shockwaves from the explosion, said Popular Science.
An arc generator creates high-intensity laser pulses that excite and heat air molecules in the space between the vehicle and the blast site. It then introduces an electric arc that travels along the electrically conductive path produced by the laser.
That massive energy directed into empty space produces a bubble called a "Laser-Induced Plasma Channel" or LIPC. This plasma shield absorbs and deflects much of the incoming energy from the shock wave.
This system might also be able to slow and deflect shrapnel being propelled by the shock wave. The LIPC won't be able to stop or deflect a shell aimed directly at the vehicle.
The device detects an explosion in water or air then estimates the time and location of the explosion. A signal from the sensor then fires the laser. The system will rely on a database of bomb explosion signatures so it knows just much energy to use to create the plasma shield.
The design is expected to protect everything from vehicles, armored fighting vehicles, ships, submarines, buildings and even humans.
You can view the video at http://www.popsci.com/boeing-just-patented-force-field-lasers.
