A Leyden ball is a fictional bullet used in the 19-century Jules Verne science fiction novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. It contains a capacitance charge of electrical energy, which discharges instantaneously upon the bullet's impact.
A similar, but more complex non-lethal electronic weapon, meant to disable people, has been developed for police use in the modern day.
Fictional description
In his 1870 science fiction classic Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne wrote about a hunting expedition using a very unusual form of bullet:
the balls sent by this gun are not ordinary balls, but little cases of glass. These glass cases are covered with a case of steel, and weighted with a pellet of lead; they are real Leyden bottles, into which the electricity is forced to a very high tension. With the slightest shock they are discharged, and the animal, however strong it may be, falls dead.
In Verne's novel, the Leyden balls were fired with special rifles powered by compressed air; it was only necessary that they touch the target. It was even possible to use them to bag game flying mere feet above the waves:
I was witness to one of the finest gun shots which ever made the nerves of a hunter thrill. A large bird of great breadth of wing, clearly visible, approached, hovering over us. companion shouldered his gun and fired, when it was only a few yards above the waves. The creature fell stunned, and the force of its fall brought it within the reach of dexterous hunter's grasp. It was an albatross of the finest kind.
In real life
In 2005, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security awarded a development contract for a similar device called a Piezer, described as "an untethered electro-muscular disruption non-lethal stun weapon based on piezoelectric technology for civil law enforcement officers and the military".
The Extended Range Electronic Projectile, a long-range untethered version of a rifle-fired Taser stun gun underwent trials in 2009. It was designed to fire non-lethal electronic dart modules at a range up to 20 meters from a 12-bore shotgun. Upon contact with its target, each dart module electrically shocks its subject for 20 seconds to immobilize it. The energy source for this device, however, is not a capacitor, but rather a conventional dry cell, or "battery".
A similar, but more complex non-lethal electronic weapon, meant to disable people, has been developed for police use in the modern day.
Fictional description
In his 1870 science fiction classic Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne wrote about a hunting expedition using a very unusual form of bullet:
the balls sent by this gun are not ordinary balls, but little cases of glass. These glass cases are covered with a case of steel, and weighted with a pellet of lead; they are real Leyden bottles, into which the electricity is forced to a very high tension. With the slightest shock they are discharged, and the animal, however strong it may be, falls dead.
In Verne's novel, the Leyden balls were fired with special rifles powered by compressed air; it was only necessary that they touch the target. It was even possible to use them to bag game flying mere feet above the waves:
I was witness to one of the finest gun shots which ever made the nerves of a hunter thrill. A large bird of great breadth of wing, clearly visible, approached, hovering over us. companion shouldered his gun and fired, when it was only a few yards above the waves. The creature fell stunned, and the force of its fall brought it within the reach of dexterous hunter's grasp. It was an albatross of the finest kind.
In real life
In 2005, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security awarded a development contract for a similar device called a Piezer, described as "an untethered electro-muscular disruption non-lethal stun weapon based on piezoelectric technology for civil law enforcement officers and the military".
The Extended Range Electronic Projectile, a long-range untethered version of a rifle-fired Taser stun gun underwent trials in 2009. It was designed to fire non-lethal electronic dart modules at a range up to 20 meters from a 12-bore shotgun. Upon contact with its target, each dart module electrically shocks its subject for 20 seconds to immobilize it. The energy source for this device, however, is not a capacitor, but rather a conventional dry cell, or "battery".
Delia "Della" Mullady (alternate spelling of name: Mulleady) was an Ireland-born American film editor and photographer who cut Harold Lloyd's short comedy films during the 1910s.
According to contemporaneous records, she arrived in the United States by 1904, originally settling in New York, and was working as a film editor in Los Angeles by 1913, although like many film editors of her era, she did not receive credits on those early works.
Selected filmography
* The Tip (1918)
* Step Lively (1917)
* The Big Idea (1917)
* The Flirt (1917)
* Rainbow Island (1917)
* Bliss (1917)
* Pinched (1917)
* Over the Fence (1917)
* Luke, Crystal Gazer (1916)
* Lonesome Luke on Tin Can Alley (1917)
* ' (1917)
* Lonesome Luke, Mechanic (1917)
* Lonesome Luke Loses Patients (1917)
According to contemporaneous records, she arrived in the United States by 1904, originally settling in New York, and was working as a film editor in Los Angeles by 1913, although like many film editors of her era, she did not receive credits on those early works.
Selected filmography
* The Tip (1918)
* Step Lively (1917)
* The Big Idea (1917)
* The Flirt (1917)
* Rainbow Island (1917)
* Bliss (1917)
* Pinched (1917)
* Over the Fence (1917)
* Luke, Crystal Gazer (1916)
* Lonesome Luke on Tin Can Alley (1917)
* ' (1917)
* Lonesome Luke, Mechanic (1917)
* Lonesome Luke Loses Patients (1917)
This is a list of fictional technology and equipment appearing in the British comic strip Judge Dredd appearing in 2000 AD, Judge Dredd Megazine and related publications.
Equipment
Birdie
The birdie is a hand-held lie detector used by the Judges. It can operate even when held behind the user's back where the person being tested can not see it. Judges are trained to fool these machines, so when a judge has to be interrogated, more old-fashioned equipment is used, sometimes in conjunction with truth drugs.
Face changing machines
Rather than having to resort to plastic surgery, face changing machines allow people to change their features virtually instantly. This has proved a useful resource for the criminal fraternity. In spite of this Judges have not outlawed them (as they have most equipment useful in crime). The Department is known to use them in their own undercover operations.
Mechanismo
The Mechanismo Programme was a project to build robot judges to police the streets of Mega-City One. It faced heavy resistance from Dredd who was proved right when a couple of the robots ran amok.
Psionic amplifier
The psionic amplifier or psi-amp is a machine which exponentially increases the psionic power of the user (provided that the user has at least some psionic ability to begin with). The machine runs on electricity and is generally shaped either like a coffin or a chair. It works by converting the user's own "life-force" into psionic energy, which gives the user extraordinary power far greater than what anybody could achieve unaided. However the machine is always user-fatal, as once it is switched off the user's life-force is exhausted, and his body crumbles into dust. Consequently, psi-amps are illegal, although the Judges keep one of their own for use in dire emergencies. Judge Omar died using it to destroy the demonic Seven Samurai when Shojun the Warlord summoned them from Hell to conquer Mega-City One.
The Virgin Judge Dredd novel "The Savage Amusement" by David Bishop featured a psi-amp which was designed so that the user could steal the life-force of other people to boost his own psi-power, without harming himself.
Sleep machines
To maximise a Judges' effectiveness sleep machines are used to reduce the amount of time spent sleeping. In recent years concern has been expressed about their use. Regulations require judges to get natural sleep periodically to prevent psychosis.
Recreation
===Boing!===
Boing! is a miracle plastic invented in 2101. It is stored as a liquid in an aerosol can, and is sprayed onto the user, where it solidifies and expands into a bubble surrounding the user like a zorb ball. The solid form of Boing is extremely bouncy. The user can safely jump off a great height, such as a tall building, bounce up again without injury, and continue bouncing until the boing! sphere runs out of kinetic energy. As this is extremely hazardous outside, it is only permitted indoors in licensed premises such as the Palais De Boing, with unauthorised use carrying a penalty of twenty years. Boing! is also used to play human pinball in giant-sized pinball machines, with people inside the balls who try to control their direction of travel (in addition to the pinball machine controls).
Boing! has been used successfully to trap the indestructible undead Dark Judges, and the Mega-City One Justice Department keeps reserves of Boing! in its armouries in case they escape.
Umpty Candy
Uncle Ump's Umpty Candy was a confectionery sold in Mega-City One which became known as "the sweet that was too good to eat." Although it was not a narcotic drug (in Mega-City One, sugar is also illegal) and was not addictive per se, it tasted so good that it was almost impossible to stop eating it once it had been tasted. People who tried to give it up experienced severe withdrawal symptoms. The problem became so acute that the judges banned Umpty Candy, arrested Ump and faked his death, pretending that the secret recipe had died with him. However, a corrupt judge ensured that the secret got out, and black market Umpty was soon being sold illicitly by criminals known as umptybaggers.
Vehicles
H-Wagon
H-wagon is not one particular vehicle but a generic term used by the judges for any Justice Department vehicle that flies.
Hover board
Hover boards are surfboards fitted with anti-gravity units and crop up in numerous stories, but in particular those revolving around Chopper. They have become the basis of a popular sport - high-level skysurfing is legal in Mega City 1, whereas low-level surfing incurs severe penalties. Up until Supersurf 8 competition skysurfing was generally an underground sport.
Lawmaster
The lawmaster is a motorbike used by street judges. It has artificial intelligence, twin 20mm machine guns ("bike cannon"), a laser, and can fire stun gas grenades. It also has a turbo-boost function which enables it to jump over long distances or to great heights. It can respond to verbal commands and drive itself. It superseded the obsolete Lawranger in the 21st century.
Manta Prowl Tank
The Manta is a vehicle used by the Judges to deal with serious disturbances such as riots. It can also be used in wartime. It has antigravity and a powerful armament. It is not the Justice Department's biggest tank, however, which is the more powerful Heavy, which runs on caterpillar tracks and is reserved for military use, as opposed to normal law enforcement.
Pat-Wagon
The pat-wagon or patrol wagon (or sometimes catch wagon) is a standard Justice Department vehicle usually driven by auxiliaries rather than full judges. It can be used to collect prisoners from the streets and take them to holding pens.
Weapons
Boot knife
Every street judge carries a knife in a scabbard attached to his boot.
Daystick
The Judges' version of the nightstick with a titanium core.
Exorcist bullet
The exorcist bullet is a recent addition to the judges' inventory. They are designed for use against supernatural foes. They contain a mixture of silver nitrate, wolfsbane, salt, garlic, holy water, pieces of religious relics, and anything else which might have an effect against ghosts, werewolves and the like. It can be fired from the Lawgiver pistol.
Lawgiver
The lawgiver pistol is the standard sidearm used by judges. It fires six different kinds of bullets, and is programmed to explode when used by an unauthorised user.
Lawrod
The lawrod rifle was the standard rifle carried by all street judges in a holster on the side of their lawmaster bikes. It became obsolete and was replaced with the Widowmaker in 2114.
Riot foam
Riot foam is used by the judges to quell riots. It is sprayed as a liquid over groups of rioters, and then immediately solidifies on contact with air, to form a rock-hard substance which immobilizes those trapped within, bringing violence to a speedy end. Special cutting equipment is then used to release the prisoners, who are then arrested.
A similar substance was featured the 1993 Sylvester Stallone film Demolition Man, as a vehicle safety device to protect drivers in road accidents. Stallone later played Judge Dredd in the first Judge Dredd film.
Stub gun
A stub gun is an extremely potent two-handed laser rifle able to slice through almost any substance in an instant. However while this weapon is very powerful, sustained use may lead to it overheating and exploding, killing the user and any others nearby. It was used to considerable effect during the Apocalypse War, when it was used to slice through aerial roads during the East Meg One invasion to delay the attackers, and also against East Meg vehicles.
Stumm gas
Stun gas used by street judges in riots. On average it kills one person in every 250, and its use is normally banned in open areas.
T.A.D.
The total annihilation device is a nuclear warhead of massive power, capable of obliterating an entire mega-city in a single cataclysmic explosion. Six mega-cities have been destroyed in this way in the Judge Dredd strip: East-Meg One in the Apocalypse War, and five others in "Judgement Day". The Apocalypse War served as a graphic illustration of their power, not only with the destruction of East Meg One but with twenty five TADs launched by MC-1 in the early hours of the war, diverted to another reality by the Sov "Apocalypse Warp" (a shield which deflected the weapons from MC-1). They not only destroyed the entire planet in the other dimension, but caused a rift in reality that destroyed two adjacent dimensions (this would be revealed nineteen years later in "Helter Skelter").
Widowmaker
The Widowmaker 2000 is a fully automatic shotgun/smg used by street judges. It was introduced in 2114 to replace the obsolete lawrod rifle. It was introduced to the comic strip in the story "Judgement Day".
Equipment
Birdie
The birdie is a hand-held lie detector used by the Judges. It can operate even when held behind the user's back where the person being tested can not see it. Judges are trained to fool these machines, so when a judge has to be interrogated, more old-fashioned equipment is used, sometimes in conjunction with truth drugs.
Face changing machines
Rather than having to resort to plastic surgery, face changing machines allow people to change their features virtually instantly. This has proved a useful resource for the criminal fraternity. In spite of this Judges have not outlawed them (as they have most equipment useful in crime). The Department is known to use them in their own undercover operations.
Mechanismo
The Mechanismo Programme was a project to build robot judges to police the streets of Mega-City One. It faced heavy resistance from Dredd who was proved right when a couple of the robots ran amok.
Psionic amplifier
The psionic amplifier or psi-amp is a machine which exponentially increases the psionic power of the user (provided that the user has at least some psionic ability to begin with). The machine runs on electricity and is generally shaped either like a coffin or a chair. It works by converting the user's own "life-force" into psionic energy, which gives the user extraordinary power far greater than what anybody could achieve unaided. However the machine is always user-fatal, as once it is switched off the user's life-force is exhausted, and his body crumbles into dust. Consequently, psi-amps are illegal, although the Judges keep one of their own for use in dire emergencies. Judge Omar died using it to destroy the demonic Seven Samurai when Shojun the Warlord summoned them from Hell to conquer Mega-City One.
The Virgin Judge Dredd novel "The Savage Amusement" by David Bishop featured a psi-amp which was designed so that the user could steal the life-force of other people to boost his own psi-power, without harming himself.
Sleep machines
To maximise a Judges' effectiveness sleep machines are used to reduce the amount of time spent sleeping. In recent years concern has been expressed about their use. Regulations require judges to get natural sleep periodically to prevent psychosis.
Recreation
===Boing!===
Boing! is a miracle plastic invented in 2101. It is stored as a liquid in an aerosol can, and is sprayed onto the user, where it solidifies and expands into a bubble surrounding the user like a zorb ball. The solid form of Boing is extremely bouncy. The user can safely jump off a great height, such as a tall building, bounce up again without injury, and continue bouncing until the boing! sphere runs out of kinetic energy. As this is extremely hazardous outside, it is only permitted indoors in licensed premises such as the Palais De Boing, with unauthorised use carrying a penalty of twenty years. Boing! is also used to play human pinball in giant-sized pinball machines, with people inside the balls who try to control their direction of travel (in addition to the pinball machine controls).
Boing! has been used successfully to trap the indestructible undead Dark Judges, and the Mega-City One Justice Department keeps reserves of Boing! in its armouries in case they escape.
Umpty Candy
Uncle Ump's Umpty Candy was a confectionery sold in Mega-City One which became known as "the sweet that was too good to eat." Although it was not a narcotic drug (in Mega-City One, sugar is also illegal) and was not addictive per se, it tasted so good that it was almost impossible to stop eating it once it had been tasted. People who tried to give it up experienced severe withdrawal symptoms. The problem became so acute that the judges banned Umpty Candy, arrested Ump and faked his death, pretending that the secret recipe had died with him. However, a corrupt judge ensured that the secret got out, and black market Umpty was soon being sold illicitly by criminals known as umptybaggers.
Vehicles
H-Wagon
H-wagon is not one particular vehicle but a generic term used by the judges for any Justice Department vehicle that flies.
Hover board
Hover boards are surfboards fitted with anti-gravity units and crop up in numerous stories, but in particular those revolving around Chopper. They have become the basis of a popular sport - high-level skysurfing is legal in Mega City 1, whereas low-level surfing incurs severe penalties. Up until Supersurf 8 competition skysurfing was generally an underground sport.
Lawmaster
The lawmaster is a motorbike used by street judges. It has artificial intelligence, twin 20mm machine guns ("bike cannon"), a laser, and can fire stun gas grenades. It also has a turbo-boost function which enables it to jump over long distances or to great heights. It can respond to verbal commands and drive itself. It superseded the obsolete Lawranger in the 21st century.
Manta Prowl Tank
The Manta is a vehicle used by the Judges to deal with serious disturbances such as riots. It can also be used in wartime. It has antigravity and a powerful armament. It is not the Justice Department's biggest tank, however, which is the more powerful Heavy, which runs on caterpillar tracks and is reserved for military use, as opposed to normal law enforcement.
Pat-Wagon
The pat-wagon or patrol wagon (or sometimes catch wagon) is a standard Justice Department vehicle usually driven by auxiliaries rather than full judges. It can be used to collect prisoners from the streets and take them to holding pens.
Weapons
Boot knife
Every street judge carries a knife in a scabbard attached to his boot.
Daystick
The Judges' version of the nightstick with a titanium core.
Exorcist bullet
The exorcist bullet is a recent addition to the judges' inventory. They are designed for use against supernatural foes. They contain a mixture of silver nitrate, wolfsbane, salt, garlic, holy water, pieces of religious relics, and anything else which might have an effect against ghosts, werewolves and the like. It can be fired from the Lawgiver pistol.
Lawgiver
The lawgiver pistol is the standard sidearm used by judges. It fires six different kinds of bullets, and is programmed to explode when used by an unauthorised user.
Lawrod
The lawrod rifle was the standard rifle carried by all street judges in a holster on the side of their lawmaster bikes. It became obsolete and was replaced with the Widowmaker in 2114.
Riot foam
Riot foam is used by the judges to quell riots. It is sprayed as a liquid over groups of rioters, and then immediately solidifies on contact with air, to form a rock-hard substance which immobilizes those trapped within, bringing violence to a speedy end. Special cutting equipment is then used to release the prisoners, who are then arrested.
A similar substance was featured the 1993 Sylvester Stallone film Demolition Man, as a vehicle safety device to protect drivers in road accidents. Stallone later played Judge Dredd in the first Judge Dredd film.
Stub gun
A stub gun is an extremely potent two-handed laser rifle able to slice through almost any substance in an instant. However while this weapon is very powerful, sustained use may lead to it overheating and exploding, killing the user and any others nearby. It was used to considerable effect during the Apocalypse War, when it was used to slice through aerial roads during the East Meg One invasion to delay the attackers, and also against East Meg vehicles.
Stumm gas
Stun gas used by street judges in riots. On average it kills one person in every 250, and its use is normally banned in open areas.
T.A.D.
The total annihilation device is a nuclear warhead of massive power, capable of obliterating an entire mega-city in a single cataclysmic explosion. Six mega-cities have been destroyed in this way in the Judge Dredd strip: East-Meg One in the Apocalypse War, and five others in "Judgement Day". The Apocalypse War served as a graphic illustration of their power, not only with the destruction of East Meg One but with twenty five TADs launched by MC-1 in the early hours of the war, diverted to another reality by the Sov "Apocalypse Warp" (a shield which deflected the weapons from MC-1). They not only destroyed the entire planet in the other dimension, but caused a rift in reality that destroyed two adjacent dimensions (this would be revealed nineteen years later in "Helter Skelter").
Widowmaker
The Widowmaker 2000 is a fully automatic shotgun/smg used by street judges. It was introduced in 2114 to replace the obsolete lawrod rifle. It was introduced to the comic strip in the story "Judgement Day".
Steven Van Belleghem is an entrepreneur, academic, and author who has given keynote presentations on subjects such as the future of marketing and the transformation of customer relationships in more than 40 countries around the world. Many academics consider him to be an expert in these fields, although he is perhaps best known for his four best-selling books. These include The Conversation Manager, which received an award for the most innovative marketing book in 2010, and When Digital Becomes Human, which won the Best Marketing Book of 2015 award.
Career
After studying Applied Economics at Ghent University and spending summers specialising in marketing at the University of California, Berkeley, Van Belleghem started his professional career as a researcher at the Vlerick Business School in Belgium, where he is still a visiting professor. He then joined InSites Consulting, a research agency, where he spent almost 12 years working as a consultant, then a managing partner. During this time, he led the Customer Happiness Team and helped to grow the company from 8 to 130 members of staff with offices in 5 countries . and Interacto.
Van Belleghem played a small role in Disney’s Cars 3 and, to date, his YouTube channel has received approximately Two Million Views.
Books
Van Belleghem has written four best-selling books: The Conversation Manager (2010), The Conversation Company (2012), When Digital Becomes Human (2014), and Customers the Day After Tomorrow (2018). They are all available in 7 languages, and Van Belleghem has sold more than 120,000 in total. The Conversation Manager received an award for the most innovative marketing book in 2010,<ref name"auto1"/> When Digital Becomes Human won the Best Marketing Book of 2015 award,<ref name"auto3"/> and Customers the Day After Tomorrow was nominated for the Best International Business Book award.<ref name="auto2"/>
Career
After studying Applied Economics at Ghent University and spending summers specialising in marketing at the University of California, Berkeley, Van Belleghem started his professional career as a researcher at the Vlerick Business School in Belgium, where he is still a visiting professor. He then joined InSites Consulting, a research agency, where he spent almost 12 years working as a consultant, then a managing partner. During this time, he led the Customer Happiness Team and helped to grow the company from 8 to 130 members of staff with offices in 5 countries . and Interacto.
Van Belleghem played a small role in Disney’s Cars 3 and, to date, his YouTube channel has received approximately Two Million Views.
Books
Van Belleghem has written four best-selling books: The Conversation Manager (2010), The Conversation Company (2012), When Digital Becomes Human (2014), and Customers the Day After Tomorrow (2018). They are all available in 7 languages, and Van Belleghem has sold more than 120,000 in total. The Conversation Manager received an award for the most innovative marketing book in 2010,<ref name"auto1"/> When Digital Becomes Human won the Best Marketing Book of 2015 award,<ref name"auto3"/> and Customers the Day After Tomorrow was nominated for the Best International Business Book award.<ref name="auto2"/>