Israeli Defense Ministry x Semi-Lethal Sonic Cannons

Anyone who knows anything about international affairs knows that the Israelis don't mess around when it comes to security.

Despite the constant threat of terrorist attack, El Al remains among the safest airlines in the world every year.  To deal with (un)civil insurrection, the Israeli Defense Ministry has contracted for the production of sonic-boom stun-guns called "Thunder Generator cannons," which they hope to use in crowd-control situations.

The cannons are built by farming company PDT Agro, which originally designed the sound blasters as a means of warding birds away from crops.  The weapon runs on LPG, a common cooking gas, which mixes with oxygen to generate powerful bursts of sound. Each sound burst lasts around 300 milliseconds, and travels from the cannon at almost six times the speed of sound* 

*The speed of sound (in dry air) = 768 mph.

Although it's intended to be less than lethal, the Thunder Generator cannon can cause death to people within 30 feet of the blast. For people farther away than 30 feet, the sonic boom will deafen them and knock them back, and hopefully disperse an unruly crowd.

Orthodox settlers and rock-throwing Palestinians beware.

[Link: Popular Science]