back to article US special forces tool up with 'plasma blades'

America's top-secret elite commando forces have been field-testing a "plasma knife" - a handheld unit which generates a cutting "blade" of glowing ions. Disappointingly for any wouldbe kimono-clad combat mystics out there, the handheld energy cutlass isn't intended for hand to hand combat and can't be used for parrying …

COMMENTS

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  1. Ian Yates
    Boffin

    I'm not a doctor, but...

    While bleeding to death is definitely not a good thing, surely not bleeding at a point of a cut isn't that great either?

    Maybe I misunderstood, but if they're cutting people open to perform surgery, how are they intending to get the "wound" to heal? Seems like an infection nightmare...

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Ian Yates

    No you aren't a doctor...

  3. Chimpofdoom!

    RE: I'm not a doctor, but...

    Basically the whole idea is that you cut them open to remove any foreign objects aka bullets, shards from shrapnel etc etc, using the plasma blade would make this job a hundred times easier than using a conventional scalpel (namely because the blood flow can hide it), if they aren't removed they get infected and well you know the rest.

  4. H 5
    Flame

    Causterisation

    Less bleeding during surgery means a surgeon can actually see what the hell hes doing, you need to get the blood out of the way - field medics are less liky to have equipment and qualified assisntants to swab and suction blood away.

    As for infection , you;ve just nuked the bacteria with an effing plasma field. Can't get much more sterile than "consumed by fire".

    The wound will heal because only a very thin layer of tissue is cauterised - theyre not BBQing the wound. Burns heal don't they?

    Light-Saber Penknives ftw.

  5. goggyturk
    Coat

    Solid snake

    Now all they need is the OctoCamo suit...

    Mine's the one with the Eastern European face camo enabled.

  6. Falanx
    Alien

    Honour, guide me....

    Ah, a weapon after a Zealot's heart...

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    For shame

    not a Halo style covenant energy sword then.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Black Helicopters

    Your powers are weak old man...

    So how long until two SOCOM medics back at base after a long days' special-ops schenanigans decide to re-enact Star Wars? Or maybe they're more Ghostbusters fans. What happens when you cross the streams?

  9. Graham Marsden
    Coat

    But...

    ... is it less clumsy and random than a scalpel...?

  10. lukewarmdog
    Badgers

    re-enactment

    I also forsee many "it's only a flesh wound" comedy moments when surgeon snake whips your arms and legs off. "That's stopped the bleeding, now see if you can bite me to death".

  11. Michael 82
    Coat

    Yes my master...

    Not exactly a light saber yet then? booooooo

    Mines the one with the rebuiltt light saber in the pocket.

  12. regadpellagru
    Joke

    Starcraft 2 is coming ...

    "Disappointingly for any wouldbe kimono-clad combat mystics out there, the handheld energy cutlass isn't intended for hand to hand combat ..."

    Shame, really. 2 of these and a protoss suit, they would be really fearsome against the Zerg swarm.

  13. RTNavy
    Grenade

    Torture??

    Another use would be "field torture", and maybe even safe tattoos?

  14. Simon Harris

    Not exactly a light sabre!

    The plasma is only around the edge of the blade.

    Here's a nice (if you're into that sort of thing!) video of the plasma scalpel in action:

    http://www.peaksurgical.com/video/plasmablade.cfm

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    is it just me?

    Or was anyone else reading the title as:

    Light Sabre comes to battle...

  16. Scott 26
    Joke

    For Adun!

    how much text do I need to type here to get it to submit!?!??!?!

  17. Pablo

    @Simon Harris

    Ewwww.

    But I guess that's kind of the point. If I had to make slits in a corpse I'd want to use the PlamaBlade™ too. The other two options were definitely worse.

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