Vortex Cannon

I have just watched a BBC 1 science programme called "BBC One Goes Bang!" about a Vortex Cannon.

Very interesting concept and what's more, it works!

Have a look at the video - it's better on full screen - www.bbc.co.uk...

Could this guy have found a cheap weapon and would it be worth investing in?

Grrr....'not available in your area' says the video when I try to play it.

You guys across the pond get all the fun.

www.youtube.com...

that should be it, correct me if I'm wrong.

sorry I don't know how to post the video itself on the forum. ^^;

Couple of interesting questions come to mind.

Why is it not avail in our area? Subscription only, or blocked by some govt agency?

One more question. Can you try to upload it to youtube or google and repost for the rest of us to see?

Looks like it might be good for unruly crowd control???
Mobs get redy!!!

MessOnTheFED!

Originally posted by awakening1
...
Why is it not avail in our area? Subscription only, or blocked by some govt agency?
...

Because it is british public television, and since internet streams cost bandwidth/money every time they are consumed, they are restricted to british IPs in this case.

Perfectly normal thing for streams all around the world.

Its the new era of ... media property...
It is not available in Greece either...
However bear in mind that the same happens when one tries to view a series from the abc site or whatever great American network site ...its just you cannot observe that yourselves.
Sucks really...

The air cannon is not a new thing but rather an older one that has olso been exploited in trade albeit in the form of small toy cannons.

This is the first time i have seen a serious implementation.
You might want to have a look over in youtube.
There are quite a few videos about air cannons.

reply to post by GEORGETHEGREEK[/url]

I don't think it is. This device is a "Vortex" cannon. The scientist in question delivered a measured amount of liquified acetylene gas [which is highly volatile and thus explosive] in to a 'burning' chamber, where it was mixed with oxygen.

An electrical current is used to detonate the mixture which, from the moment of detonation, expells the super heated air in the barrel at tremendous speeds.

Once the air leaves the barrel, it forms a Vortex in the shape of a 'smoke ring' or 'doughnut'.

It was so powerful that it toppled bricks that were piled on each other in the shape of a house from about a hundred metres.

The kiddies toy cannons you mention Georgethegreek, were spring loaded in the first instant, even the air propelled 'spud guns'!

I would still like to know if this would be worth developing for crowd control situations or whether it could be used as a non-lethal weapon?

Saw this show myself I've seen the toys such as the airzooka but yeah the one on the tv show was quite impressive. I couldn't see it being used as any kind of weapon though the bricks it toppled were lacking any kind of cement and looked staged to tip easily.

Factor in the fact you need to prime the gas for each firing and it wouldn't do much more than maybe knock someone down if they weren't expecting it.

Still think it was cool though maybe if the size wasn't a factor.

Originally posted by Teknikal Factor in the fact you need to prime the gas for each firing and it wouldn't do much more than maybe knock someone down if they weren't expecting it.

I see where you're going with this, but think of a large bore shotgun.

Shotgun cartridges come with various loads such as 00 or 000 buck, solid or flechette. Each shell is individually made, allbeit automatically, each with a measured charge or propellant.

I envisage the same for a military version of the Vortex Cannon - pre-measured shotgun like shells, each with a pre ordained charge of acetylene and oxygen being electrically fired.

After thinking about it bit more with different propellant, building materials and scaling maybe you could do some proper damage with one of these even beyond a non-lethal sense.
I was pretty much thinking solely about the one on the TV show but I'm sure there are more efficient ways to propel it although I still suspect the end product would have to be quite large probably mounted on a specialist vehicle of some sort.

Would be cool to see anyway even if it didn't work.

look like a giant airzooka on streoids lolol

Hardly new! The Germans experimented with this in WWII as an AA weapon, and the US tried a version for firing poison gas.

Neither ever got anywhere, but there are still various people trying to turn it into a nonlethal weapon, e.g. the folks at SARA. and this lot -

www.non-lethal-weapons.com...

IMO, if it doesn't work after 50+ years, then the idea might just be flawed...

[edit on 29-7-2009 by Wembley]