Originally published December 3 2005
USC patents odor-emitting collar that may help army communicate in combat situations
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
In Los Angeles, researchers at USC believe they have discovered a superior way for the army to issue orders in combat situations, using a collar that releases odors that could be associated with certain actions as a way of informing soldiers of what to do in a situation where verbal communication is impossible.
For over 30 years, Barry Fox has trawled the world's weird and wonderful patent applications each week, digging out the most exciting, intriguing and even terrifying new ideas.
Orders by odour The traditional way the army delivers orders to soldiers is by shouting at them.
But researchers at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles think the US Army Research Office should consider an alternative -- coded smells.
These can be delivered silently, in the dark and when loud noise is drowning out speech.
Furthermore, says the USC patent, the immediate reaction to a smell is emotional, rather than rational, so an odour trigger may encourage people to carry out orders without question.
Sounds pain-free A controlled dose of ultrasound can temporarily stun a nerve, killing pain without the need for drug injections.
A short burst at slightly higher power is then used trigger a nerve twitch that confirms the beam is in the correct position.
Finally, the sound beam power is increased to around 1000 watts per square centimetre for a few seconds.
But the beam must be very strong and complex calculations are needed to keep it tightly focussed on the particle it is moving.
So the University of California in Oakland has been developing optoelectronic tweezers which use a low-power light beam to create a local electric charge that moves a nearby particle, without the need to focus tightly on the particle.
First, the particles to be manipulated are scattered on a glass sheet that is coated with light-sensitive silicon of the type used in photoelectric cells.
Electrodes near the sheet are fed a few volts of electricity to give all the particles on it a small electric charge.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml