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hydroelectric facility. Pulsed-power sources capable of producing terawatt energy levels are commercially available,which at a modest 10% extraction efficiency suggests the potential for microwave weapons transmitting pulses inexcess of 100 gigawatts (billions of watts). 35Obviously, any weapon emitting that much energy has potential to do great damage to the military sensor and communicationnetworks of an adversary, not to mention its civilian infrastructure. Even at considerably lower power levels,microwave weapons could be used to disable the avionics of aircraft in flight, disrupt the command links of surfaceforces, and even heat the skin molecules of enemy personnel -- a painful effect potentially applicable to nonlethalweapons. However, because the energy threshold at which radio waves begin to disrupt digital electronics is far belowlevels at which radiation would be perceptible to humans, most employment scenarios involve discriminate attacksagainst electronics in which there are few collateral effects on people or physical infrastructure.In theory, it might be possible to generate graduated effects against enemy electronics by varying the power output,frequency, and pulse duration of microwave weapons. The “tunability” of microwave effects should not be exaggerated,since it will often not be feasible to determine in advance precisely which targets are effected and in what manner.Nonetheless, high-power microwaves may offer unprecedented opportunities for precision targeting of effects, whileleaving many adversaries in the dark as to what caused their sudden loss of capability.It should be noted, though, that all of the operational virtues of radio-frequency weapons have equal or greater appealto potential adversaries. Unlike high-energy lasers, the technology for generating high-power microwaves is neitherarcane nor expensive. Other countries have developed powerful HPM devices, and the growing emphasis on “network-centric”operations may make U.S. forces uniquely vulnerable to their effects. More broadly, the introductionof digital technologies into every facet of national commerce and culture may make Americans susceptible to radiofrequencyaggression by technically-proficient terrorists. The federal government has only recently begun to investigatethe full range of microwave-weapon effects, in order to more fully grasp the danger they may pose to U.S. interestsin the future. 361 H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, Bantam Classic Editions, New York: 1988, p. 23 (originally published in 1898).2 Gerard Piel, The Age of Science: What Scientists Learned in the Twentieth Century, Basic Books, New York: 2001, p.3.3 “Physics Chronology,” in Scientific American Science Desk Reference, John Wiley & Sons, New York: pp. 146-147.4 Ibid; Albert Einstein, The Theory of Relativity & Other Essays, Philosophical Library, New York: 1950, pp. 5-16, 34-49.5 See Helge Kragh, Quantum Generations: A History of Physics in the Twentieth Century, Princeton University Press,Princeton, N.J.: 1999.6 Report of the High Energy Laser Executive Review Panel, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary for Science & Technology,Department of Defense, Washington, D.C.: March 24, 2000, p. ii.7 Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on High Energy Laser Weapon System Applications, Defense Science Board,Department of Defense, Washington, D.C.: June 2001.8 Remarks of General Ronald Fogelman, USAF-Ret., Lexington Institute Directed-Energy Forum, Washington, D.C.:March 15, 2002.9 See Scientific American Science Desk Reference, op. cit., pp. 137-142.10 Ibid.11 “Proliferation and Significance of Radio Frequency Weapons Technology,” Statement of Dr. Ira W. Merritt before theJoint Economic Committee, U.S. Congress, February 25, 1998 (www.house.gov/jec/hearings/radio/merritt.htm).12 Matthew Weschler, “How Lasers Work,” at www.howstuffworks.com/laser.htm. See also the entry for lasers inThe New Encyclopedia Britannica, Micropaedia, Volume 7, Chicago: 2002, pp. 170-172.13 A brief history of the laser’s development may be found at a web site sponsored by the National Academy ofEngineering called www.greatachievements.org.Directed-Energy Weapons: Technology and Programs17