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: ''This article describes the secret [[weapon of mass destruction]] invented and described in [[Ayn Rand]]'s [[novel]], ''[[Atlas Shrugged]].'' For other uses of the phrase, see [[Project X (disambiguation)]].''

: ''This article describes the secret [[weapon of mass destruction]] invented and described in [[Ayn Rand]]'s [[novel]], ''[[Atlas Shrugged]].'' For other uses of the phrase, see [[Project X (disambiguation)]].''

'''Project X''' (2018-20), in [[Ayn Rand]]'s [[novel]] ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'', was a project of the [[State Science Institute]], completed in the last year of the [[strike]] of the men of the mind called by [[John Galt]]. It was, quite simply, a [[weapon of mass destruction]] and was intended as an instrument of totalitarian control. Instead it became the trigger for the final collapse of the socialistic society that the [[United States of America]] had then become.

'''Project X''' (2018–20), in [[Ayn Rand]]'s [[novel]] ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'', was a project of the [[State Science Institute]], completed in the last year of the [[strike]] of the men of the mind called by [[John Galt]]. It was, quite simply, a [[weapon of mass destruction]] and was intended as an instrument of totalitarian control. Instead it became the trigger for the final collapse of the socialistic society that the [[United States of America]] had then become.

Project X also was a [[Literary type#Allegorical types|type]] of the perversion of science by unscrupulous and power-hungry government authorities, and was also a metaphor for the unintended consequences of the use of taxpayer's money to fund scientific research.

Project X also was a [[Literary type#Allegorical types|type]] of the perversion of science by unscrupulous and power-hungry government authorities, and was also a metaphor for the unintended consequences of the use of taxpayer's money to fund scientific research.

No real-life investigator has ever attempted to duplicate the Xylophone or to build anything like it. However, scientists at the [[University of Nottingham]] have built a device capable of producing a beam of coherent sound in the range of terahertz (trillions of vibrations per second).<ref name=Nottingham/> The project scientists call their device a "saser," a play on [[laser]], a device for producing coherent [[light]]. The Nottingham group hopes to use their device as an instrument of harmless imaging, for [[medicine|medical]] or security purposes (i.e., anti-[[terorrism|terrorist]] screening in public venues). They also talk hopefully of using their device to produce [[computer]]s with ''very'' high-speed internal clocks. But just as lasers have always been theoretically capable of burning or cutting if the light is powerful enough, the "saser" could deliver an ultrasonic beam capable of pulverizing an object, just as a dentist's sonicator pulverizes calcium deposits on teeth or dentures.

No real-life investigator has ever attempted to duplicate the Xylophone or to build anything like it. However, scientists at the [[University of Nottingham]] have built a device capable of producing a beam of coherent sound in the range of terahertz (trillions of vibrations per second).<ref name=Nottingham/> The project scientists call their device a "saser," a play on [[laser]], a device for producing coherent [[light]]. The Nottingham group hopes to use their device as an instrument of harmless imaging, for [[medicine|medical]] or security purposes (i.e., anti-[[terorrism|terrorist]] screening in public venues). They also talk hopefully of using their device to produce [[computer]]s with ''very'' high-speed internal clocks. But just as lasers have always been theoretically capable of burning or cutting if the light is powerful enough, the "saser" could deliver an ultrasonic beam capable of pulverizing an object, just as a dentist's sonicator pulverizes calcium deposits on teeth or dentures.

The most recent use of sound as a weapon occurred in the [[Iraq]] theater, where soldiers often used Long Range Acoustical Devices, or LRADs, to direct an ear-splitting sound at an unruly crowd or an approaching attacker.<ref name=lrad>"Troops in Iraq Get High-tech Noisemaker," [[Associated Press]], March 3, 2004. <http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,FL_noise_030304,00.html?ESRC=eb.nl></ref> About a year later, a cruise ship used an LRAD-like device to repel [[pirates]].<ref name=usatoday>Pain, John, "Cruise ship attacked by pirates used sonic weapon," ''USA Today'', November 7, 2005.<http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2005-11-07-cruise-blast_x.htm></ref> The most recent documented use of the LRAD occurred on [[United States]] soil, in September of 2009. Specifically, the police of [[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]] used LRADs to disperse a crowd of demonstrators at the "Group of 20 Summit." That act has provoked great controversy, charges of excessive use of force, and comparisons to the [[Gestapo]] and [[stormtroopers]] of Nazi [[Germany]] during the [[Second World War]].<ref name=King>King T, "[http://www.salem-news.com/articles/october012009/lrad_hell_tk_10-1-09.php# The Criminal Behavior of G-20 Police in Pittsburgh]," Salem-News.com, 1 October 2009. Accessed 6 October 2009.</ref>

The most recent use of sound as a weapon occurred in the [[Iraq]] theater, where soldiers often used Long Range Acoustical Devices, or LRADs, to direct an ear-splitting sound at an unruly crowd or an approaching attacker.<ref name=lrad>"Troops in Iraq Get High-tech Noisemaker," [[Associated Press]], March 3, 2004. <http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,FL_noise_030304,00.html?ESRC=eb.nl></ref> About a year later, a cruise ship used an LRAD-like device to repel [[pirates]].<ref name=usatoday>Pain, John, "Cruise ship attacked by pirates used sonic weapon," ''USA Today'', November 7, 2005.<http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2005-11-07-cruise-blast_x.htm></ref> The most recent documented use of the LRAD occurred on [[United States]] soil, in September 2009. Specifically, the police of [[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]] used LRADs to disperse a crowd of demonstrators at the "Group of 20 Summit." That act has provoked great controversy, charges of excessive use of force, and comparisons to the [[Gestapo]] and [[stormtroopers]] of Nazi [[Germany]] during the [[Second World War]].<ref name=King>King T, "[http://www.salem-news.com/articles/october012009/lrad_hell_tk_10-1-09.php# The Criminal Behavior of G-20 Police in Pittsburgh]," Salem-News.com, 1 October 2009. Accessed 6 October 2009.</ref>

This is not the same as using sound to pulverize an object. The worst physical hazard that the LRAD could present to an overexposed subject is permanent hearing loss. The possible psychological harm to an exposed subject might be impossible to assess or predict.

This is not the same as using sound to pulverize an object. The worst physical hazard that the LRAD could present to an overexposed subject is permanent hearing loss. The possible psychological harm to an exposed subject might be impossible to assess or predict.