Cruise Ship fights off pirates with Sound Cannon, Water hoses and the boat's wake
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Pirates who attacked a luxury cruise ship off the eastern coast of Africa on Saturday were repelled at least partly by a nonlethal acoustic weapon the Poway inventor developed for American Technology Corp.
"We don't have the details, except that it was an LRAD that they used," said Robert Putnam, a spokesman for the San Diego company. Norris developed the LRAD, or Long-Range Acoustic Device, for military use as a hailing and warning device, Putnam said.
The disk-shaped transmitter can emit an ear-splitting warning noise akin to a fire alarm as well as jackhammer-like pulses that can travel nearly two-thirds of a mile. At the limit of its range, the sound produced by the LRAD, is roughly 95 decibels -- equivalent to standing a few feet away from a speeding subway train or chain saw.
*Thanks, Bret!*