The Physics of War (43 page)

The pulse from such a device could paralyze a large fraction of the United States. If detonated about 250 miles above a central state such as Kansas, it could knock out all the electronic equipment and electronic devices throughout most of the United States.

Is there any defense against such a system? Indeed, it is possible to shield electronic systems, but such shields are costly, and they are not likely to be practical for many years.

What about other systems? We talked earlier about x-ray lasers, and considerable work has gone into trying to develop them. There is, however, a serious problem with the concept, as compared to an optical or microwave laser. The lifetime of the excited electrons it produces is very short, and there are difficulties in building x-ray mirrors. Because of this, x-ray laser beams generally have poor coherence, and it is difficult to get around this. The best alternative appears to be the use of highly ionized plasma as the active media. This idea shows some promise, but effective weapons using x-ray lasers have so far not been built.

Another similar approach is to use high-energy beams of atoms or subatomic particles as weapons. Such beams are of course being generated every day all around the world. They are the beams created by accelerators of various types, including cyclotrons and linear accelerators. The technology associated with particle accelerators is, of course, well known. The particles that are usually accelerated are electrons, neutrons, positrons, protons, and ionized atoms. Charged particles are difficult to focus and keep in a narrow beam because they repel one another, so the best particle for a weapon would be neutrons. Beams of this type have several advantages. First, the particles travel at speeds close to that of light. Second, they can be produced with very high energies. Work on such beams is currently going on in several places, including the Ion Beam laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base.

Returning to less exotic weapons, researchers are also developing very sophisticated grenade launchers. The XM25 grenade launcher is equipped with a laser rangefinder and an on-board computer. It is designed so that the grenade can be guided to the target using a laser beam. The grenade will then explode in midair directly above the target.
¹⁵
“Smart bullets” may also be on the way. These are bullets that are maneuverable in flight and are controlled by a guidance system. They will be particularly effective if the target is moving.
¹⁶

Robots of various types have also been considered for years as possible weapons. They have already been shown to be useful for clearing mines. However, the Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System (MAARS
^®
), which is being marketed by QinetiQ North America, is an unmanned ground vehicle that is operated remotely. It has onboard cameras, motion detectors, a microphone, and several other devices. It is propelled using continuous tracks, like those used on tanks, and it can be deployed for reconnaissance, surveillance, and target-acquisition purposes. It can also carry a weapon system.
¹⁷

Finally, another possible weapon is worth mentioning, even though it may seem farfetched. Earlier we saw that drones and satellites are being used for spying and other purposes. As strange as it may seem, sensors are being developed that can decipher the electromagnetic waves in the human brain. A satellite
or drone equipped with such a device might one day be able to “read the mind” of an enemy on the battlefield.

Some of these possible weapons of the future may seem like products of pure fantasy, but imagine the wonder a warrior of the Persian Empire might have experienced if he'd been told about the muskets used during the Thirty Years' War. What might one of Napoleon's soldiers have thought if told about the armed airplanes and submarines of World War I? To the citizens of Nagasaki and Hiroshima atomic bombs would have no doubt seemed fantastical, that is until August 1945, when atomic explosions suddenly became all too real. By increasing our understanding of the physical laws of nature, humans have learned to produce weapons of ever-greater destructive power. As physicists further expand our knowledge, it is almost certain that our weapons of war will continue to progress. The great hope for the twenty-first century and beyond is that rather than increasing the carnage of war, such progress will instead promote the development of precise, nonlethal weapons that ultimately enable the resolution of conflict without the staggering human slaughter that became too common in the twentieth century.

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION

  
1
. “Battle of Megiddo (15th Century BC),”
Wikipedia
,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Megiddo_(15th_century_BC)
(accessed July 1, 2013); Jimmy Dunn, “The Battle of Megiddo,” Tour Egypt,
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/megiddo.htm
(accessed July1, 2013).

  
2
. N. S. Gill, “Pharaoh Thutmose III and the Battle of Megiddo,”
About.com
,
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/egyptmilitary/qt/070607Megiddo.htm
(accessed July 2, 2013).

CHAPTER 2. EARLY WARS AND THE BEGINNING OF PHYSICS

  
1
. For an excellent account of the Battle of Kadesh, see Robert Collins Surh, “Battle of Kadesh,
Military History
, August 1995. The article can also be found online at
Historynet.com
,
http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-Kadesh.htm
(accessed July 23, 2013).

  
2
. Ernest Volkman,
Science Goes To War
(New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2002), p. 17.

  
3
. Ibid., p. 20.

  
4
. Robert O'Connell,
Of Arms and Men
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), p. 39.

  
5
. “Aristotle,” Ancient Greece,
http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/People/Aristotle
(accessed December 15, 2012).

  
6
. Linda Alchin, “Ballista,” Middle Ages,
http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/ballista.htm
(accessed December 18, 2012).

  
7
. Linda Alchin, “Trebuchet,”
http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/trebuchet.htm
(accessed December 20, 2012).

  
8
. W. W. Tarn,
Philip of Macedon, Alexander the Great
(Boston: Beacon Press, 1972).

  
9
. Volkman,
Science Goes To War
, p.30

10
. E. J. Dijksterhuis,
Archimedes
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1983).

CHAPTER 3. BASIC PHYSICS OF EARLY WEAPONS

  
1
. Isaac Asimov,
The History of Physics
(New York: Walker, 1966), p. 13.

  
2
. Ibid., p. 26.

  
3
. Ibid., p. 65.

  
4
. Ibid., p. 84.

  
5
. Barry Parker,
Science 101: Physics
(Irvington, NY: Collins-Smithsonian, 2007), p. 24.

  
6
. Ibid., p. 26.

  
7
. “The Physics of Archery,” Mr. Fizzix, 2001,
http://www.mrfizzix.com/archery
(accessed January 3, 2013).

  
8
. Franco Normani, “The Physics of Archery,” Real World Physics Problems,
http://www.real-world-physics-problems.com/physics-of-archery.html
(accessed January 5, 2013).

CHAPTER 4. THE RISE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND THE EARLY ENGLISH-FRENCH WARS

  
1
. Ernest Volkman,
Science Goes to War
(New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2002), p. 35.

  
2
. Robert O'Connell,
Of Arms and Men
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), p. 69.

  
3
. “The Battle of Adrianople (Hadrianopolis),” Illustrated History of the Roman Empire,
http://www.roman-empire.net/army/adrianople.html
(accessed January 10, 2013).

  
4
. David Ross, “The Battle of Hastings,” Britain Express,
http://www.britainexpress.com/History/battles/hastings.htm
(accessed January 13, 2013).

  
5
. Kennedy Hickman, “Hundred Years' War: Battle of Crécy,”
About.com
,
http://www.militaryhistory.about.com/od/battleswars12011400/p/crecy.htm
(accessed January 16, 2013).

  
6
. Volkman,
Science Goes to War
, p. 38.

  
7
. “The Battle of Agincourt,”
BritishBattles.com
,
http://www.britishbattles.com/100-years-war/agincourt.htm
(accessed January 19, 2013).

  
8
. Robert Hardy,
Longbow: A Social and Military History
(New York: Lyons and Burford, 1993).

  
9
. “The Physics of Archery,” Mr. Fizzix, 2001,
http://mrfizzix.com/archery
(accessed January 21, 2013).

10
. Franco Normani, “The Physics of Archery,” Real World Physics Problems,
http://www.real-world-physics-problems.com/physics-of-archery.html
(accessed January 24, 2013).

CHAPTER 5. GUNPOWDER AND CANNONS: THE DISCOVERIES THAT CHANGED THE ART OF WAR AND THE WORLD

  
1
. Jack Kelly,
Gunpowder
(New York: Basic Books, 2004), p. 12.

  
2
. Ibid., p. 17.

  
3
. J. R. Partington,
A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder
(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999), p. 22.

  
4
. Kelly,
Gunpowder
, p. 23; Partington,
A History of Greek Fire
, p. 69.

  
5
. Robert O'Connell,
Of Arms and Men
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), p. 108; Kelly,
Gunpowder
, p. 41.

  
6
. Partington,
A History of Greek Fire
, p. 91.

  
7
. “Huolongjing,”
Wikipedia
,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huolongjing
(accessed August 6, 2013).

  
8
. Ernest Volkman,
Science Goes to War
(New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2002), p. 53; Kelly,
Gunpowder
, p .49.

  
9
. Volkman,
Science Goes to War
, p. 63; Kelly,
Gunpowder
, p. 55.

10
. Chris Trueman, “Charles VIII,” History Learning Site,
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/c8.htm
(accessed January 27, 2013).

CHAPTER 6. THREE MEN AHEAD OF THEIR TIME: DA VINCI, TARTAGLIA, AND GALILEO

  
1
. “Leonardo da Vinci,”
Wikipedia
,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/leonardo_da_vinci
(accessed January 29, 2013).

  
2
. Christopher Lampton, “Top 10 Leonardo da Vinci Inventions,”
HowStuffWorks.com
, January 25, 2011,
http://www.howstuffworks.com/innovations/famous-inventors/10-Leonardo-da-Vinci-Inventions.htm
(accessed February 1, 2013).

  
3
. “Science and Inventions of Leonardo da Vinci,”
Wikipedia
,
http://en.wikipedia.org/Science_and_inventions_of_Leonardo_da_Vinci
(accessed February 2, 2013)

  
4
. Ernest Volkman,
Science Goes to War
(New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2002), p. 77.

  
5
. “Tartaglia Biography,” MacTutor History of Mathematics,
http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Tartaglia.html
(accessed February 3, 2013).

  
6
. J. Bronowski,
The Ascent of Man
(Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1973), p. 198.

  
7
. Mary Bellis, “Galileo Galilei,”
About.com
,
http://www.inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventors/a/Galileo_Galilei.htm
(accessed February 6, 2013); “Galileo Galilei,”
Wikipedia
,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei
(accessed February 6, 2013).

  
8
. This experiment was definitely performed a few years later.

CHAPTER 7. FROM EARLY GUNS TO TOTAL DESTRUCTION AND DISCOVERY

  
1
. J. R. Partington,
A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder
(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999), p. 97.

  
2
. Jack Kelly,
Gunpowder
(New York: Basic Books, 2004), p. 70; “Matchlock,”
Wikipedia
,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/matchlock
(accessed February 9, 2013).

  
3
. Kelly,
Gunpowder
, p. 76.

  
4
. “Wheellock,”
Wikipedia
,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/wheellock
(accessed February 10, 2013).

  
5
. Ernest Volkman,
Science Goes to War
(New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2002), p. 91; Matt Rosenberg, “Prince Henry the Navigator,”
About.com
,
http://www.geography.about.com/od/historyofgeography/a/princehenry.htm
(accessed February 13, 2013).

  
6
. Volkman,
Science Goes to War
, p. 99; F. Streicher, “Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli,”
Catholic Encyclopedia
(New York: Robert Appleton, 1912), available online at New Advent,
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14786a.htm
(accessed February 14, 2013).

  
7
. A. F. Pollard, “King Henry VIII,” excerpted from
Encyclopedia Britannica
, 11th ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1910), 8: 289, available online at Luminarium.org,
http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/tudorbio.htm
(accessed February 15, 2013).

  
8
. Mary Bellis, “William Gilbert,”
about.com
,
http://www.inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_william_gilbert.htm
(accessed February 17, 2013).

  
9
. Volkman,
Science Goes to War
, p. 104.

10
. Dava Sobel,
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Problem of His Time
(New York: Walker and company, 2007).

11
. Kelly,
Gunpowder
, p. 132.

12
. R. L. O'Connell,
Of Arms and Men
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), p. 141.

13
. “Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden,”
Answers.com
,
http://www.answers.com/topic/gustav-ii-adolph-of-sweden
(accessed February 20, 2013).

14
. Barry Parker,
Science 101: Physics
(Irvington, NY: Collins-Smithsonian, 2007), p. 8; J. Bronowski,
The Ascent of Man
(Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1973), p. 221.

CHAPTER 8. THE IMPACT OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

  
1
. Ernest Volkman,
Science Goes to War
(New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2002), p. 116.

  
2
. “Louis XIV Biography,” Bio,
http://www.biography.com/people/louis-xiv-9386885
(accessed February 22, 2013).

  
3
. J. Bronowski,
The Ascent of Man
(Boston: Little, Brown and company, 1973), p. 259.

  
4
. Mary Bellis, “James Watt—Inventor of the Modern Steam Engine,”
About.com
,
http://inventors.about.com/od/wstartinventors/a/james_watt.htm
(accessed February 24, 2013); Carl Lira, “Biography of James Watt,” Michigan State University College of Engineering,
http://www.egr.msu.edu/~lira/supp/steam/wattbio.html
(accessed February 24, 2013).

  
5
. Bronowski,
Ascent of Man
, p. 274.

  
6
. Volkman,
Science Goes to War
, p. 126; J. J. O'Connor and E. F. Robertson, “Benjamin Robins,” MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive,
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Robins.html
(accessed February 27, 2013).

  
7
. “Flintlock,”
Wikipedia
,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/flintlock
.

  
8
. C. D. Andriesse,
Huygens: The Man behind the Principle
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011).

  
9
. “Christiaan Huygens,”
Wikipedia
,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiaan_Huygens
(accessed March 1, 2013).

CHAPTER 9. NAPOLEON'S WEAPONS AND NEW BREAKTHROUGHS IN PHYSICS

  
1
. Ernest Volkman, S
cience Goes to War
(New York: John Wiley, 2002), p. 136.

  
2
. J. Bronowski,
The Ascent of Man
(Boston: Little, Brown and company, 1973), p. 148.

  
3
. “Antoine Lavoisier,”
Wikipedia
,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Lavoisier
(accessed August 15, 2013).

  
4
. John H. Lienhard, “No. 728: Death of Lavoisier,” Engines of Our Ingenuity,
http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi728.htm
(accessed August 15, 2013).

  
5
. Robert Wilde, “Napoleon Bonaparte,”
About.com
,
http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/bonapartenapoleon/a/bionapoleon.htm
(accessed March 3, 2013).

  
6
. “Napoleonic Weaponry and Warfare,”
Wikipedia
,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/napoleonic_weaponry_and_warfare
(accessed March 3, 2013).

  
7
. “French Invasion of Russia,”
Wikipedia
,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_invasion_of_Russia
(accessed March 4, 2013)

  
8
. Woburn Historical Commission, “Count Rumford,” Middlesex Canal website,
http://www.middlesexcanal.org/docs/rumford.htm
(accessed March 5, 2013).