Kelly St. Clair wrote:
 > ...Which would /definitely/ fall into the "go
 > directly to warcrime, do not pass GO" category.

I vigorously agree.
If it were possible, it's a torture device or an atrocity producer.

Graham Donald wrote:
 > You could always try something like 2000AD's
 > 'Stupid gun' which scrambles the neurons in
 > the brain causing a sharp and permanent drop
 > in intelligence, which is one of the nastier
 > ways to demoralize an opposing force.

It's far from clear what 'intelligence' is based on
at a neuronal structure and function level.
Especially since several hundred genes influence whatever it is
psychometric tests test in all sorts of subtle ways.

The real-world equivalent of the 'stupid gun' appears to be
post-Fairness Doctrine "news media" in the U.S.
However, sustained exposure is required, so battlefield efficacy is poor.

Bruce Johnson wrote:
 > At best we may be able to make something like
 > (iirc, from one of Issac Asimov’s stories, at least)
 > ‘neural whips’; devices that will wirelessly stimulate
 > pain receptors in the skin...

As previously noted with the example of the Area Denial System,
this would be a handheld microwave emitter - also known as a radar gun.
An alternate might be an electric cattle prod with alternating current
between shock terminals; or a literal whip with bare wire ends at the
tip that complete a circuit with impact.

True ranged weapons with the performance initially specified remain in
the realm of [horrific] fantasy.

Rob O'Connor