While efforts to tame storms have so far been clouded by failure, some researchers aren't willing to give up the fight. And even if changing the weather proves overly challenging, residents and disaster officials can do a better job planning and reacting.
In fact, military officials and weather modification experts could be on the verge of joining forces to better gauge, react to, and possibly nullify future hostile forces churned out by Mother Nature.
While some consider the idea farfetched, some military tacticians have already pondered ways to turn weather into a weapon.
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Thunderbolts on demand (???)
What would a military strategist gain in having an "on-switch" to the weather?
Clearly, it offers the ability to degrade the effectiveness of enemy forces. That could come from flooding an opponent's encampment or airfield to generating downright downpours that disrupt enemy troop comfort levels. On the flipside, sparking a drought that cuts off fresh water can stir up morale problems for warfighting foes.
Even fooling around with fog and clouds can deny or create concealment - whichever weather manipulation does the needed job.
In this regard, nanotechnology could be utilized to create clouds of tiny smart particles. Atmospherically buoyant, these ultra-small computer particles could navigate themselves to block optical sensors. Alternatively, they might be used to provide an atmospheric electrical potential difference -- a way to precisely aim and time lightning strikes over the enemy’s head - thereby concoct thunderbolts on demand.
Perhaps that's too far out for some. But some blue sky thinkers have already looked into these and other scenarios in "Weather as a Force Multiplier: Owning the Weather in 2025" - a research paper written by a seven person team of military officers and presented in 1996 as part of a larger study dubbed Air Force 2025.
Thunderbolts on demand (???)
What would a military strategist gain in having an "on-switch" to the weather?
Clearly, it offers the ability to degrade the effectiveness of enemy forces. That could come from flooding an opponent's encampment or airfield to generating downright downpours that disrupt enemy troop comfort levels. On the flipside, sparking a drought that cuts off fresh water can stir up morale problems for warfighting foes.
Even fooling around with fog and clouds can deny or create concealment - whichever weather manipulation does the needed job.
In this regard, nanotechnology could be utilized to create clouds of tiny smart particles. Atmospherically buoyant, these ultra-small computer particles could navigate themselves to block optical sensors. Alternatively, they might be used to provide an atmospheric electrical potential difference -- a way to precisely aim and time lightning strikes over the enemy’s head - thereby concoct thunderbolts on demand.
Perhaps that's too far out for some. But some blue sky thinkers have already looked into these and other scenarios in "Weather as a Force Multiplier: Owning the Weather in 2025" - a research paper written by a seven person team of military officers and presented in 1996 as part of a larger study dubbed Air Force 2025.
