What famous invention was originally investigated as a "death ray" to bring down enemy aircraft but was not used for this purpose?

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Lasers http://www.teslasociety.com/deathray.htm Jun 20 04, 5:42 AM

gmackematix

I'll give a yay for that SM as it fits the question, although the link is guessing at what the crafty Croat was up to before his death. I had another British "death ray" invention in mind. Jun 20 04, 9:11 AM

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Robert Watson-Watt, who became known as the 'Father of Radar, was asked by the British Air Ministry about the possibility of concentrating enough energy in a radio beam to knock a plane out of the sky. Watson-Watt reported back that, a radio death-ray was impossible, but it might be feasible to detect enemy aircraft using reflected radio waves. Thus the concept of radar was born. The British quickly recognized the need for radar systems using higher frequency radio waves, microwaves, for greater accuracy. To do this, the "cavity magnetron" was developed and brought by British scientists to the U.S. for a demo. One American expert called the cavity magnetron the "most valuable cargo ever brought to our shores." http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:B-8y3C8JYBIJ:www.hillzoo.com/strangeTrue.htm+%22death+ray%22+%22enemy+aircraft%22+british&hl=en Jun 21 04, 12:18 AM