- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Da Capo Press Inc; New edition edition (2 Nov 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0306815060
- ISBN-13: 978-0306815065
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 14.1 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,374,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
"Directed energy is the wave (and not just the microwave) of the future, the source of weapons that will prove to be revolutionary... (The E-Bomb) will appeal to readers schooled in Tom Clancy." Kirkus Reviews"
Product Description
This is a timely book that explains the next revolution in military weapons - directed-energy weapons - and how tomorrow's wars will be fought. In science fiction, futuristic soldiers are often shown wielding light emitting weapons - Flash Gordon used a ray gun, Captain Kirk carried a phaser, and Darth Vader brandished a lightsaber. But, today, the imagined future of science fiction is soon to be a reality. After more than two decades of research, the United States is on the verge of deploying a new generation of weapons that discharge light-wave energy, the same spectrum of energy found in your microwave, or in your TV remote control. They're called "directed-energy weapons" - lasers, high-powered microwaves and particle beams - and they signal a revolution in weaponry, perhaps, more profound than the atomic bomb. The first directed-energy (DE) weapons are being tested right now, and their deployment is planned in the very near future. In "The E-Bomb", author J Douglas Beason, a leading US expert in directed-energy research, will explain in clear and non-technical prose these exotic new weapons and answer the questions that we'll all want answered: What is Directed Energy? How do DE weapons work? What can these DE weapons do? And are these weapons safe to use? As the once-imagined weapons of the future begin to appear on today's battlefield's, "The E-Bomb" will help explain how and why the future is now.
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First Sentence
DIRECTED ENERGY (DE) WEAPONS-lasers, high-power microwaves (HPMs), and particle beams-have come of age. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
DIRECTED ENERGY (DE) WEAPONS-lasers, high-power microwaves (HPMs), and particle beams-have come of age. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The book creates a comprehensive picture of the current state of DE weapons research concluding that it will still be a long trime before DE weapons make a difference in modern war outside specialist applications.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
6 reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Very Informative and Enjoyable read
19 Nov 2005
Format:Hardcover
Coming from the position of a layman this book works very well. It provides simple explanations of the physics behind directed energy weapons such that people without scientific training can understand how they work and what this implies. This is done with the use of diagrams where necessary to explain the point. The book moves forward steadily and this isn't a book that you will get bogged down in.
Chapters describe the technology itself, the problems with it, how far the military has taken it, the current state of the art and the possible future manifestations of it. They also describe the ever present battle between the sceptics and true believers in this technology. The book also includes details and photographs of unclassified projects and demonstrators. In addition, Beason makes clever use of what-if scenarios drawn from all too familiar events to demonstrate the possible utility of directed energy weapons.
Overall this book is well written and provides a strong introduction to directed energy weapons that covers both the story so far and the possible futures from the perspective of an advocate for this technology. I doubt that any comparatively accessible books exist on this topic to date. All the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle have been put on the table here and I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in finding out more about directed energy weapons.
Chapters describe the technology itself, the problems with it, how far the military has taken it, the current state of the art and the possible future manifestations of it. They also describe the ever present battle between the sceptics and true believers in this technology. The book also includes details and photographs of unclassified projects and demonstrators. In addition, Beason makes clever use of what-if scenarios drawn from all too familiar events to demonstrate the possible utility of directed energy weapons.
Overall this book is well written and provides a strong introduction to directed energy weapons that covers both the story so far and the possible futures from the perspective of an advocate for this technology. I doubt that any comparatively accessible books exist on this topic to date. All the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle have been put on the table here and I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in finding out more about directed energy weapons.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
An Excellent Introduction, but Only That.
11 Feb 2006
Format:Hardcover
Not too bad a book, but definitely an introductory text. It also has some curious gaps. For instance, it entirely omits Raytheon's VIGILANT EAGLE system for airport defense. It makes very little mention of contributions to DEW from the EW community. Other Active Denial System (ADS) it omits all energy-based non-lethal weapons. Finally, it makes very little mention of HPM-based EM threats. I expected it to at least survey the threats of EMP.
If you really want to learn about this subject, start with this book, and move on to your public library. Read the first few chapters of Jane's All The Worlds Fighting Ships and Jane's All The Worlds Fighting Aircraft for weapons systems principles. From there, move on to periodicals and read through the last fifteen years or so of Aviation Week's articles on EW/EMP/HPM. Finally, read the Executive Summary of the report by the EMP threat commission.
If you really want to learn about this subject, start with this book, and move on to your public library. Read the first few chapters of Jane's All The Worlds Fighting Ships and Jane's All The Worlds Fighting Aircraft for weapons systems principles. From there, move on to periodicals and read through the last fifteen years or so of Aviation Week's articles on EW/EMP/HPM. Finally, read the Executive Summary of the report by the EMP threat commission.
Good Read!
30 Oct 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Vividly written, this book offers an useful introduction to directed energy weapons and their development history. High-power microwaves weapons will not be feasible unless the large infrastructure are shrinked, microwave powers are increased and atmospheric breakdowns are overcome. However, the non-lethal Active Denial System with limited range against human appears plausible in the near future. As for the high-energy laser, there are many types of laser weapons to be fielded in the air, on the ground and on the sea. These systems are not mature yet and are also too large to be efficient.
The USAF relay mirror experiment proved that a laser system could track a fast-flying object in low-earth orbit, reflect laser energy off a mirror and illuminate a target. This is exciting because airborne or ground-based laser might become a 'global' weapon by increasing the distance of the laser's reach with relay mirrors!
The USAF relay mirror experiment proved that a laser system could track a fast-flying object in low-earth orbit, reflect laser energy off a mirror and illuminate a target. This is exciting because airborne or ground-based laser might become a 'global' weapon by increasing the distance of the laser's reach with relay mirrors!
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