'An almost noiseless and blinding flash of light, and a man fell headlong and lay still;' H.G. Wells, War of the Worlds.

Excellent article in The Guardian a couple of weeks ago on US arms company Raytheon's developments in 'less than lethal' weaponry for both the battlefield and public order policing.[1]

Their latest product 'Silent Guardian' is a directional microwave weapon designed to cause intense pain to anyone in its path.

Forget padding and white overalls it seems that seamless tin foil suits are going to be the next big thing in protest clothing.

See the article at technology.guardian.co.uk

References
[1] Steve Wright and Charles Arthur, 'Targeting the pain business', The Guardian 05/10/06
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1887256,00.html