I recently watched David Bowie's 1974 appearance on the Dick Cavett show--aside from being captivated by the rare interview from Bowie, I was shocked by Cavett's mentioning of "Black Noise." As a fan of William S. Burroughs I had read about Black Noise and its potential usage to destroy molecular matter via the usage of sub-harmonics.

Throbbing Gristle utilized a similar theory of sound as the ultimate weapon when they installed massive sub-woofers in the basement of a building. The idea was to disrupt the already deteriorating health of junkies that inhabited an abandoned field next to TG practice space. With sub-harmonic bombardment TG essentially created an inaudible force field that caused its intended victims to become violently ill.

Now imagine a bomb that could unleash a devastating explosion of sub-harmonics capable of destroying physical matter. Sound impossible? Well, as Bowie points out, one could purchase the patent for such a device in France for almost nothing.

Here is quote from Burroughs himself:
"Like infrasound, the sound below the level of hearing. Below 16 MHz. Turned up full blast it can knock down walls for 30 miles. You can walk into the French patent office and buy the patent for 40p. The machine itself can be made very cheaply from things you could find in a junk yard."

If you are interested here are a couple links, one to the Bowie/Cavett interview and the other to a '74 interview with Burroughs.

http://www.teenagewildlife.com/Appearances/Press/1974/0228/rsinterview/

http://members.ol.com.au/rgriffin/GoldenYears/741204DC.html