Experiments


Statement

Discussion

Subscribe

Products

Press


Links

Subscribe to Mailing List

Shockwave Vortex Gun

A shockwave cannon consists of a tubular barrel with a mathematically defined tapering diameter within the chamber, an intake nozzle valve with flash arresters for fuel and oxygen, a purge valve for air, and a spark ignition device.  This particular shockwave cannon is approximately 1 meter in length with a 10 cm I.D. chamber.  It operates by producing a small explosion in the back of the chamber that in turn fires a burst of compressed air that is formed by the specific physical and dynamic properties of the shockwave cannon and the barrel’s internal geometry.  At no time is a projectile loaded or fired from the shockwave cannon.  Only a burst of compressed air exits the barrel.  This burst is a high speed rotating vortex of air.  The sensation of this vortex as it impacts on a person or object is not unlike being hit by a pillow. Thus, local individuals successfully targeted by the system will feel a real impact of air on their body and react accordingly.  

Extensive study and several previously constructed and operated shockwave cannons have been used for research into this portion of the project. The chamber is purged with compressed air as part of the automatic cycling process.  This system can operate continuously for long periods time without human intervention.

Short Vortex Gun History below (note that the version described below is of a much larger scale than the current gun used in the Gallery Shooting Gallery system):

The Vortex Gun was originally designed and built by Dr. Zimmermeyer, an Austrian scientist, at an experimental institute in the Tyrol at Lofer. It basically was a mortar barrel of a large caliber sunk in the ground. The first experiments with compressed air were a failure. It was originally intended to have the function of creating an artificial whirlwind or tornado that would hopefully make enemy airplanes lose control and thus knock them out of the sky. If all circumstances were perfect and favorable, the strange device seemed to work fairly well. Numerous high-speed films were taken and processed for analysis and study, which concluded that the rotation and forward-moving vortex was in fact able to start the formation of a fairly large vortex. Although it was unknown whether the pressure changes of the tornado would be strong enough to cause frame failure in enemy aircraft caught in the air current, it was known that the pressure on wing loading might be excessive. In the years before this invention, it was known that clear-air turbulence had brought down large airliners and broken them into pieces. It seemed possible and feasible that Dr. Zimmermeyer's unlikely-sounding cannon could have the same effects too. The range of the prototype was estimated to be about a hundred yards, even though the gun was never used in practice. But similarly designed guns have been used as Non-Lethal weapons in several uprisings and confrontations.

Eric Paulos / admin@eiu.org