Can a electron gun or similar be used against people? Is ths a national security issue in the making?

Question

I mean a "national security" issue in the way of panic. That is, making people feel "damaged goods" if they are shot with "electron" gun. I do NOT mean causing any physical harm immediately, just the psycological impact. That COULD happen if they could be shot from a distance. It could cause much panic?

Answer 1

Electrons have so little mass that they have to be travelling at seriously relativistic speed s to be able to do damage in air. Proton guns are a bit different and may well have been investigated by someone. But let's face it - economically and functionally, modern weaponry kills people very cost-effectively.

Answer 2

Not really, because it's *really* hard to make electrons go flying throug the air.  Closest they're likely to come for anything practical are the currently available tasers,  and that's not a national security issue....

Answer 3

Lighting is essentially an electron gun. The problem is that it takes a huge voltage to sustain an electric arc in air for any distance, and then the path it follows is pretty unpredictable. Best chance might be something Tesla coil based.