Boeing's "Force Field"

The Innovation

On March 22, 2015, it was announced that Boeing had patented the concept of what could possibly be the world’s first “force field”. Simply the thought of a force field seems as though it should be reserved for the science fiction writers, only to be seen on the big screen; which is why I am going to be taking a look at the idea as a whole with regards to:

•         What the innovation is,
•          What it would mean to the world, and
•          The feasibility of the idea.

The Concept

The general idea behind the “force field” concept, more particularly (and accurately) referred to as a “method and system for shockwave attenuation via electromagnetic arc” is one that the scientific community has sought after for years, ever since Star Trek and Star Wars and a whole menagerie of science fiction stories have been around.

The physics of the device would be fairly straightforward. The invention would be designed to disrupt shockwaves from explosives in order to protect vehicles or buildings from these damaging waves. It would achieve this by using a sensor to detect a shockwave (most likely through pressure changes or flashes of light caused by an explosion) and an arc generator. The generator would receive a signal from the sensor and, using lasers, would ionize an area around the desired vehicle or building, creating a plasma field. This field would have different physical properties than the surrounding medium, and therefore would (at least partially) protect the desired object from the shockwaves that would otherwise damage it. It would not however, prevent shrapnel and other debris from penetrating the field.

The patent specifically reads, “Such embodiments as described above may reduce the energy density of the shockwave by creating a second medium in the path of the advancing shockwave that reflects, refracts, absorbs, and deflects at least a portion of the shockwave.

What Does This Mean?

With the increasing use of IED (improvised explosive device) weapons and other explosives in today’s modern warfare, the threat to military vehicles from explosives is very real. The shockwave attenuation system would be invaluable in all military vehicles, as well as airplanes (from proximity airborne explosives), and buildings. The system would also be incredibly useful in aquatic vessels such as large ships since explosions are amplified by going through a non-compressive medium such as water. As far as military defense goes, this would be a game-changer.

How Feasible is the Idea?

The idea itself is definitely possible. Boeing has reportedly already done a fair amount of testing of the idea on a small scale, so we know it is not far-fetched. The feasibility of equipping every military vehicle/vessel/aircraft/building with these devices however, is questionable.

First, you have the issue of size. It is undetermined how large such a device would have to be to adequately protect a vehicle such as a HUM-V, but when you are looking at an object as large as something like the supercarrier USS John C. Stennis (pictured below), measuring in at a staggering 1092 feet in length and displacing 103,300 tons of water, you can only imagine the scale of a device needed to protect such a vessel. Second, you would have to look at cost. As it has not been stated how much a shockwave attenuation device would cost, one can only estimate; but in order to equip all (or at least most) military vehicles with them, it would more than likely be a massive sum of money. Third, there is really no way of knowing when this concept could become reality, so until then, we will have to stay living in our science non-fiction world.

(credit official US Navy photos, defense.gov)