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Frequently Asked Questions
ABOUT
Don't Get Caught Doing Anything
New
by Nels Winkless
Updated 9 November 2005
The copy prompts questions that didn't occur to me while writing the
book, or whose
answers just didn't seem worth the reader's time. I suppose we'll keep
adding to the list
as we going along.
Is a copy of the recording of The Balance of Terror
in Historical Context available?
Are linear
accelerators used only for atom
smashing?
Was
The Voice Of God the weapon repelling pirates from the cruise ship?
Is a copy of the
recording of The Balance of Terror
in Historical Context available?
No, apparently not. Jim Mitchell, who was head of PR for Sandia
Labs, searched for a copy
just a few years later, and couldn't find anything in the archives. As
a matter of fact, I never saw
the talk myself, just heard comments about it. I mentioned it just
because it's so characteristic of
Dr. Browning that such a topic could be the basis for what people
considered the funniest talk he
ever gave.
Most of his talks were given in a small auditorium out at the the labs
(seating maybe 300 people)
that was sometimes open to the public, and sometimes not. After a
public session, the security
people had to sweep the building for bugs, etc...so that it could be
used again for classified
presentations. That was a pain in the neck, so they opened the
auditorium to the public as
infrequently as possible. I did attend a couple of things there while
it was a secure area, but
I was accompanied by a guard, who sat next to me with the handle of his
sidearm poking me
in the ribs.
Are linear
accelerators used only for atom smashing?
No, I didn't mean to
imply that. Smaller versions of the instrument are used in
medical treatment
and various industrial applications.
Was The Voice Of God the
weapon repelling pirates from the cruise ship?
A cruise ship sailing off East Africa was attacked by pirates in
November 2005. Reports indicated
that the ship's crew used a “sonic”
weapon that created disabling loud noise in a “beam” that could
be
aimed. Was this the same as the Voice of God we discussed in Don’t? I
have no direct
information, but this smells mighty like a rose. If the
audio beams are not “crossed” to localize
sound at a spot, but aligned
so the beams are congruent, apparently one can produce a stupefying
sound in that one beam that practically knocks people off their feet.
One speculates that this was
the technique used to discourage the
pirates. Fascinating.