If it were not for this kick, the apparatus would be behaving just like Maxwell's Demon, a hypothetical creature (conceived of in the 19th century by James Clerk Maxwell) that could cause the spontaneous separation of hot and cold particles and thus do serious damage to some of the laws of physics.

ECONOMIST: Microrefrigeration

The flight bans came amid fears that the ash - a mixture of glass, sand and rock particles - can seriously damage aircraft engines.

BBC: EU emergency talks called on volcanic ash air chaos

But where the boundaries between danger, potential damage and safety lie, and how they vary with the type and number of ash particles, was not taken into account in the decisions to close airspace.

ECONOMIST: Volcanoes and air travel: Small eruption in Iceland | The

Directed energy (DE) is an umbrella term covering technologies that produce a beam of concentrated electromagnetic energy or atomic or subatomic particles as a direct means to damage or destroy adversary equipment, facilities, and personnel.

FORBES: U.S. Navy Pioneers Next-Gen Electric Weaponry

The agency has begun a second test, which will be completed in January 2012, measuring the volume of smaller particles, which could go deeper into the lungs and cause more extensive damage if breathed in.

BBC: Wood dust protesters march from Mossley to Plevin plant