MicrowaveDrill
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Researchers create microwave drill/death ray
If any of our peeps at Tel Aviv University have been noticing some suspicious holes around the campus lately, here's your culprit. It seems some researchers at the university have created a microwave drill that can easily bore holes through concrete, glass and other materials without leaving so much as a trace of dust left behind. It works by heating up the material to a toasty 2,000 degrees Celsius (over 5,400 degrees Fahrenheit), which softens the material enough for a metal rod to be pushed through it. Like any good death ray, however, the microwave drill has its weaknesses. For starters, the beam is unable to penetrate steel or sapphire, and there's also the small issue of microwave radiation, which could have some nasty consequences for the poor soul stuck operating the drill. According to the researchers, however, a simple shielding plate should be enough to protect anyone in the vicinity of the monstrosity -- maybe, but are there enough steel plates to protect us all if the device falls into the wrong hands? Like ours?[Via Core77]
