Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Anti-personnel weapon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (December 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
An anti-personnel weapon is one primarily used to injure or kill people.
While the distinction is very old—a spear is anti-personnel, while a catapult is of more use against buildings than individuals—the large-scale development of military technology in the 19th and 20th centuries has made the concept a key consideration in design. For instance, an anti-personnel landmine will explode into small and sharp pieces of shrapnel that tear flesh but have no effect on metal surfaces, and will be designed not to explode when a vehicle rolls over it.
In general, anti-personnel weapons are designed to exploit human fragility: the general delicacy of the human frame, the need for breathable air and drinkable water, susceptibility to fire and radiation, and so forth. Anti-personnel weapons need not muster great force, as in the case of armor-piercing shells, but instead may spread smaller and slower projectiles over a larger area.
Some modern anti-personnel weapons include booby traps, cluster bombs, and neutron bombs, as well as chemical and biological weapons.