Raytheon wants to make the raygun a reality with a handheld pain ray

There are upsides and downsides to the taser. On the one hand, it gives cops a non-lethal way to subdue violent perps. On the other hand, they seem to use it a lot more than they need to, often in lieu of just talking to somebody. So I've gotta wonder how good an idea a handheld pain ray is.

The AID is a pain-delivery device that fires a directed beam of millimeter waves that penetrate 1/64th of an inch into the skin. That's about four times the thickness of a piece of paper, for those of you keeping track at home. Apparently this causes an "unbearable burning sensation" that goes away immediately after the ray is turned off.

Right now, the ray is housed in a 600-pound, seven-foot device, but the plan is to condense that down into something that could be holstered. I suppose it's a better thing to use than a gun, but you've gotta hope that they aren't going to be using this thing at traffic stops when people talk back.