es are being researched for civil means, that may later have militaristic value, turning scientists that are trying to better humanity into creators of weapons more powerful than anything else ever seen. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atom bomb once said "I am not an evil man, but I have done evil things" in reference to creating the nuclear bomb. Will other future scientists feel the same way? Unfortunately, the answer is inevitably yes. No matter what the intentions of the research, if there is the potential for a new weapon, it will be exploited. There are currently two new forms of weapons of mass destruction on the drawing board. One seems as if it is out of science fiction, namely the "Star Trek" series of shows and movies. This being an antimatter weapon. Antimatter has successfully been created in particle accelerators, where the particle of antimatter is then collided with "normal" matter. The results of this collision are that the particles annihilate each other. In this processes, and incredible amount of energy is released. If and when sufficient amounts of antimatter can be created to comprise a bomb, or warhead, it would be as exponentially more powerful to nuclear weapons as nuclear weapons were to conventional explosives(FIG 4, Appendix C). Another weapon of mass destruction would be a kinetic kill weapon. Such a weapon would work by accelerating any material that could withstand the intense heat created by fast travel through the atmosphere to incredible speeds, then making it impact the target. The theory behind this form of weapon is the same as when the planet is struck by another object (meteorite or comet). The sheer speed of the matter is what gives it its destructive capabilities. One type of kinetic kill weapon being designed is a mass driver. Such weapons, if launched from an acceptable altitude could have the same explosive effects of a nuclear weapon, but without the side effects, such as radioactive f...
