Electro-pulse cannon stops cars in their tracks

Today's cars are so full of computerized electronics, one serious electromagnetic pulse could stop any car built after the mid-'70s in an instant. Canadian company Eureka Aerospace might be able to do that with its High-Powered Electromagnetic System (HPEMS). It's a suitcase-sized electromagnetic pulse (EMP) cannon that immediately disables a car or truck from 656 feet away without hurting the driver or innocent bystanders.

This EMP cannon is said to be ready for a demo next month. So far, the prototype is too unwieldy to place in a police car, but the idea is to shrink the device to the size of a handgun. That will make it easy to mount in police helicopters, cars, and military vehicles, potentially putting an end to deadly high-speed chases, and stopping suicide bombers from a safe distance.

This could be a fantastic development. We're wondering if it's possible to aim the pulse at one specific vehicle, or if all vehicles in the vicinity would be disabled. On a crowded highway, that could create a gigantic traffic snarl that would take hours to untangle.

Here's a video:

Sorry about that distorted aspect ratio — apparently someone hasn't figured out what 16:9 means yet. Someday.