One of the Air Force’s latest futuristic inventions, the Pain Ray (also known as the Active Denial System), has been designed for effective crowd control measures, acting similar to tear gas. The “Pain Ray” emits a powerful radiation beam that causes victims to feel a burning sensation and will send people running for cover. The potent beam is strong enough to penetrate clothes and lighter defenses, but it is not quite strong enough to pierce through walls.

Not surprisingly, the “Pain Ray” has stirred up some controversy about whether or not such a weapon is humane enough to use in combat. There have been no long-term studies to determine potential consequences of being zapped by such a device, so it may be awhile before the US military actually begins using it for warfare. Currently, the Air Force has plans to put this future technology to use by testing it on birds and possibly using it in air technology such as planes, to reduce costly damage caused by crashing birds, such as was the case with the Hudson River accident (when the seagull flew into one of the engines and caused the plane to perform a crash landing).