Pirates Thwarted by Sonic Weapon

Kristian Hermansen was one of dozens to submit a story about would be pirates attempting to take control of a cruise ship of the coast of Africa, only to be twarted by some sort of sonic weapon known as an LRAD, or Long Range Acoustic Device.

Comments

And if it wasnt for..

[mdobossy]

And if it wasn't for you pesky kids and your LRAD, I would have gotten away with it too!

Re:And if it wasnt for..

[Overly Critical Guy]

You're all units in my game of Civilization IV. Those "pirates" were the barbarian Galleon unit trying to take on my uber destroyer unit. I used my Future Tech to take it out.

Dupe

[grahams]

How many times are we going to have to read stories about music labels putting up false album tracks containing dreck such as Ashlee Simpson in place of Metallica? We get it, the labels don't like pirates....

Too bad it doesn't use the brown note

[technoextreme]

I think it would be more effective than just giving them a headache.
Pirate:Argggg we've popped our pants. Run.

Re:Too bad it doesn't use the brown note

[slavemowgli]

That's just an urban legend.

Re:Too bad it doesn't use the brown note

[drinkypoo]

Other researchers have noted flaws in the methodology of the experiment. Rather than test the entire spectrum below 20 Hz, the MythBusters tested only three specific frequencies: 5, 7, and 9 Hz. In addition, the strategy of surrounding the subject with speakers without accounting for phase effects would have resulted in a loss of effective power being transmitted, especially at the geometrical centre of the speakers.

Your very own link suggests that the experiment may have been flawed.

The rumor that I've heard most often is that it's a specific frequency next to 8Hz, and that it's sort of a universal resonance frequency. (ObDisclaimer: I believe in the fractal nature of the universe.) See also: Schumann Resonance.

Aaarrrrrgh!!

[illtron]

I imagine that the RIAA is calling the Navy about how it can get some sonic anti-piracy weapons of its own.

I find that most of the music put out by major labels these days is a painful enough torture, but hey, that's just me.

The pirates are dying off anyway...

[Anonymous Coward]

Global Warming is having a direct and measurable impact on the endangered pirate population according to The Flying Spaghetti Monster theory,
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_spaghetti_mons ter
"Global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct consequence of the decline in numbers of pirates since the 1800s. A graph showing the inverse correlation between the pirates and global temperatures was also provided. This component of the theory highlights the logical fallacy of correlation implying causation. "

Wow...a pirate story about actual pirates...

[Stradenko]

I sure hope the pirates didn't record the noise made by the LRAD for sale as bootleg CDs on the asian market...

Re:Wikipedia reference

[Anonymous Coward]

Wikipedia reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma_whore

Natural in some humans

[pogofish]

Oddly enough, my wife has one of those built in.

Non-Lethality is important

[PaxTech]

We simply cannot afford to kill any pirates, since the worldwide decline in the number of pirates is clearly responsible for global warming.

Pirates?! Rawk!

[ottffssent]

Pirates, man! I mean, a real actual honest-to-$deity story. On Slashdot. About pirates! I mean, PIRATES. The ones with hats. And parrots. I never thought I'd see the day.

Ba dum bum

[DarkHand]

So a pirate walks into a bar with a steering wheel and an active LRAD device on his crotch. The bartender says: "There's a steering wheel and an LRAD device on your crotch!" The pirate says: "Yar, I know! They're both driving me nuts!"

Weekly piracy report

[__aagctu1952]

Oh yes. Pirates are as active as ever. Only nowadays they have machine guns and RPGs instead of blunderbusses and cannons...
Just read IMB's Weekly Piracy Report for an idea of how active and how dangerous modern pirates are.

Re:Weekly piracy report

[The Salamander]

Does this mean global temperatures are decreasing?!?

Re:Weekly piracy report

[joib]

I'm wondering why these cargo ships are not defending themselves. Cargo ships are pretty stable even in choppy seas, and have lots of steel to cover behind. Just a simple high power rifle with a scope, and you could pick off these pirates when they're coming in their dinky open boats way before they get into range to shoot anywhere near accurately. Hell, given a machine gun, everybody on that little pirate boat would be dead meat within seconds.

I do hope...

[MaestroSartori]

...this didn't result in anyone getting an Angry Pirate :D

New Headline

[AxsDeny]

Timbers Shivered by Shivering Timbres

Re:New Headline

[Dirtside]

Even more concise:

Shivering Timbres Shiver Timbers

Re:Brown noise?

[Loconut1389]

me? I think the parent post is hillarious. Military and cruise ships using 150 decibel brown noise weapons? Now that's an idea!

Reminds me of an old joke... Now this isn't the exact version, but its as close as I can remember...

Whenver the captain of an old spanish galleon was heading into battle, he always asked his assistant to fetch him his red pants so that if he were to be injured and bleed, his crewmen would not see the blood and lose hope. One day, they were heading into battle against a massively powerful enemy. The captain saw the assistant already going to fetch the red pants and shouted, "Stop! This time, get me my brown pants!"

LRAD Countermeasure?

[Jherek Carnelian]

Has anyone had a chance to play with one of these? (Or been played with by someone with one of these like at the 2004 republican convention in NYC? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LRAD)

Since it is just sound, and apparently high-frequency sound (thus relatively low-energy vs low-frequency sound) I wonder if something as simple as noise-cancellation headphones would provide significant protection against LRAD usage.

Will we see pirates wearing Bose noise-cancellation headphones and listening to pirated music while they pirate real ships now?

Re:LRAD Countermeasure?

[Reverberant]

I wonder if something as simple as noise-cancellation headphones would provide significant protection against LRAD usage.

Noise cancelling headsets (and noise cancelling technologies in general) don't work all that well for high-frequency sounds since the impinging noise and the 180-degree shifted sounds need to be perfectly aligned at the ear to cancel each other out. That's difficult to do with high-frequency sounds because of the relatively small wavelengths involved.

Now passive hearing protectors (e.g. ear plugs) work very well at high frequencies. However, the best ear plugs reduce sound by 20-30 dB at high-frequencies. If the LRAD literature is true, and it can produce sound levels of 150 dB, than ear plugs can reduce it to 120 dB, which is still uncomfortably loud.

Re:Wikipedia reference

[Philip K Dickhead]

The article seems to omit the fact that this is possible and effective against the pirates, because they play COUNTRY 'MUSIC' through this thing.

Be Greedo

[dada21]

A bit OT but fun to know...

Pirates do exist, and account for nearly $16b in losses annually. If you're interested in a career like Han Solo, piracy is an option.

Most pirates today work between Eritria and Mumbai. Seychelles is very casual about accepting boats without valid port histories. The pirate ships are often large yachts with fast ciggy boats for docking. Glocks and Kalishies are the norm. The dress is much like the old pirate look -- bandanas, beards, loose shirts, etc.

Pirate robbers make the news often, yet most pirates are smugglers (food, drugs, medicine and health equipment). Countries with US/UN embargoes pay well -- 400% over the white market rate.

Cuba was easy money until 9/11, now we have our Coast Guard pretending to fight terrorism but actually destroying the free market in smuggling.

Malaysia has a growing piracy need as the government gets more religious. Somalia and Sri Lanka both ignore the pirates like Seychelles.

Take a trip to Dubai or Seychelles. Hook up with the right crowd and you can make 6 figures easily.

Arrrrr!

Re:Be Greedo

[Bob Uhl]

A smuggler isn't a pirate--he's a smuggler. Pirates attack opther ships, board them and steal from them (generally also killing passengers & crew). And we need to revoke the treaty which forbids commercial ships from carrying heavy weapons. A rocket into the pirate boat would do a lot better good than a little smoke-alarm noise.

Re:Be Greedo

[ceoyoyo]

Smugglers smuggling food, medicine and health equipment... there's something wrong when there's a market for smuggling such things.

Re:Be Greedo

[iabervon]

Actually, heavy weapons would just make ships more valuable targets for pirates. Cruise ship crews just aren't going to be very attentive, especially since pirate attacks are rare, and once they're in boarding range, rockets aren't going to be a good idea. And rockets would work really well against the sorts of ships that pirates target, so they'd be eager to get them. It's better to have an LRAD, which is effective at repelling the pirates, but not a weapon they'd be able to use effectively.

Re:Celine Dion

[AKAImBatman]

Or may be Neil Diamond..

Man, that would be sweet if you combined it with a Howitzer and some shoulder rockets.

"On the boats and on the planes..."

Rat-tat-tat-tat

"They're coming to America..."

Whiiiiiizzzzz

"Never looking back again..."

KABOOOOOOOMMM

"They're coming to America..."

Whooooooosh

"Home, don't it seem so far away..."

Rat-tat-tat-tat

"Oh, we're traveling light today..."

Sploooosh!

"In the eye of the storm..."

WAHBOOOOOOOM!

"In the eye of the storm!"

Amercian Flag Waves in the Wind

They'll be running for their lives before you know it. Never underestimate the force multipling effect of a little psychological warfare. ;-)

How many times do we have to reming you...

[gg3po]

...to stop using their terminology. It's not *piracy*, it's infring... hold on, wait a sec... this is about real pirates, you say?!? Can't ... I don't... how to proceed...

Lifting content from wikipedia?

[rsborg]

Since you're just cutting and pasting portions of your content from wikipedia, why don't you just paste the link?

Something you left out from the wiki content:
"At maximum volume, it can emit a warning tone that is 151 decibels (1000 W/m) at 1 metre, a level that is very capable of permanently damaging hearing."

I'm not sure I'd call that "an ideal use of this technology in private sector" as you put it... ethical concerns don't just go away if you're "private sector".

Yeah, good idea

[tgd]

Anyone who uses Mythbusters as a real source of proof of something working versus not working either don't watch the show, or don't understand the things they're testing.

Its entertainment, not science. The fact that it could be used as a source to declare something an urban legend is a sign of the risk using Wikipedia as an authoritative source.

The pirates are my cousins!

[Anonymous Coward]

Hard to believe right? I am from the coastal city of Bosaso on the horn of Africa, and some of my relatives took pride in their high-seas piracy. I have always heard of illegal Japanese and Norwegian ships illegaly fishing in our shores, while Somalis, with not central government and coast guard, sat around in anger and frustration.

This piracy started as a way to defend our coast-lines from illegal international fishing. Somalia hasn't had a government since 1990, and our fish resources became the loot of international fishing conglomerates. Others have used our coast to dump their waste, even nuclear waste.

After the fall of the Somali government, our coast guard's ships and vessels were looted by tribes. Some of our ships and boats were sold to illegal fishing companies, which didn't go far but stayed to fish in our waters! While other boats stayed in the hands of tribal leaders and warlords who used them for piracy and people smuggling to the middle east, although more often as a vehicle for products and trade with Yemen, our neighbor to the North.

It's funny how companies registered in Democratic developed nations, and pay their taxes there, are the ones looting our natural resources and using our sea and land to dump their waste.

http://gurukul.ucc.american.edu/ted/somalia.htm

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=249 733&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/

http://somalinet.com/news/world/Somalia/1063

I wish the international community would deploy high-tech sonic weapons to defend us against real theives, not just pirates, blinded and deafended by greed.

- Mahammad Darwish

The ship's message ...

[hotspotbloc]

... as the crew of the pirate boats rolled around on the deck with the worst headache of their lives:

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

I think it would work better if

[queenb**ch]

I'd like to test the effects of this when it's used to play Wayne Newton instead of the high piched sonic squeal. Although, there may not be much difference...

2 cents,

Queen B

Re:LRAD

[Technician]

Can you elaborate?

Yes.

Sending a 1Khz tone a long distance would require a large reflector to produce a relatively tight beam. Sending a 30 KHZ tone requires a much smaller reflector to deliver the acoustic power the same distance. The small dish sends high power signals. For example if we sent 30Khz and 31Khz, they would both travel in a well defined beam as a ~30Khz signal. Unfortunately we can't hear 30 Khz ultrasonic signals (except for a few audiophiles ;-). ) Air at high volume is not linear. For example you can compress air to several atmospheres. The reverse is not true. You can not draw several atmospheres of vacuum. You are limited by the hard limit of pure vacuum. Air compressing and expanding is non-linear.

Now enter a couple very high intensity sound waves of two frequencies. Now you have non-linear mixing. In non linear mixing (just like in a radio reciever) you get out the 2 original frequencies + the sum and the difference. Therefore 30Khz + 31 Khz is 30Khz, 31Khz, 61Khz and 1Khz. Now you have delivered a very loud and painful 1Khz sound using the tight beam delivery of 30Khz with a small dish.