Caveman Circus
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Have you ever been so hungry that you can smell food even when you’re a room away?
Your nose picks up on the passive signal that is the heavenly scent your favourite lasagna is wafting from the kitchen, and you promptly get off your lazy bum to go chase after it. Even when you don’t see the physical food just yet, but you can pinpoint where it is just by following the trace.
That’s technically how seeker missiles work.
You mean after you hear that soft “click” that mine manufacturers built in out of courtesy so that a soldier knows he’ll die soon and can say his last prayer, or, even better, be saved by his mates?
Sounds too good to be true? That’s because it is.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians commonly refer to such landmines as HSE mines – Hollywood Special Effect mines.
If you were to construct an anti-personnel (AP) mine, would you build it in a way that allows a soldier who stepped on it to get away unharmed? Probably not. At least that’s how weapon developers approach that question. And why wouldn’t they? Their job is to create a device that stops the enemy from penetrating an area (or at least to make it very time-consuming). The more casualties the deployment of the device produces, the more it will slow down or stop the enemy. Obviously, this is best achieved with a mine that instantly injures or kills a soldier rather than with one that allows him to survive unharmed.
[Read more…] about How Do You Disarm A Landmine After Stepping On It?