article_snippet: the shockwave also claims that the arc generator could create a powerful electric current within just a few milliseconds to create an electric art through the air.
article_snippet: Boeing also proposes that the arc generator could be a gun that fires multiple pellets on converging paths, leaving a trail of ions in their wake like tracer bullets.
article_snippet: These would form conductive channels through the air through which a voltage could be traced.
article_snippet: It also says the arc generator could also fire projectiles training conductive wires that would also heat the air to create a medium that would remove energy from the shockwave.
article_snippet: The patent said: 'When the shockwave created by an explosion reaches the arc, the shockwave deforms the arc in directions perpendicular to the conductive channels.
article_snippet: Specifically the shockwave pushes the ionised air created by or making up the arc inward and the current tends to flow where the air is ionised. '
highlights_snippet: An 'arc generator' uses lasers, microwaves or electric current to ionise the air in front of the shockwave so that An 'arc generator' deflects and reflects the energy .
  
highlights_snippet: The arc of ionised gas - or plasma - would also absorb shockwave energy .
  