This patent could change everything.

It could also save a ton of lives.

And while it probably won’t live up to the hype that the Star Wars movies propagate, it’ll still be unlike anything we humans have ever seen.

Dubbed “shockwave attenuation via electromagnetic arc” — the idea behind it is “to harness electrical energy to stop or slow down the shockwaves created by explosions, which can do just as much damage as shrapnel”.

Here’s more of the nitty-gritty via Engadget:

Boeing’s plan is to marry a rapid explosion sensor with an arc generator to protect targets like military vehicles, buildings or groups of troops or civilians. When an ordinance is set off, the device would fire “to create a second, transient medium that intercepts the shockwave and attenuates its energy density before it reaches a protected asset.” In other words, the system would create a buffer zone with different temperature, air density and other characteristics that “reflects, refracts, absorbs and deflects at least a portion of the shockwave,” according to Boeing’s patent.

This is, of course, a long way off from being a reality, let alone being used in combat. Aside from the cost, the massive amount of energy it’ll take to provide such a shield would mean it could only last for a very brief, finite amount of time. According to leading researchers, the plasma burst would also freeze the defenders applying the technology.