A force field that can protect vehicles from the destructive blastwaves thrown out by explosions has been development by aircraft manufacturer Boeing . The company has been granted a patent for a device that appears to work like the fictional shields seen in science fiction movies like Star Wars and Star Trek . The system works by using an 'arc generator ' to rapidly heat the air in front of a shockwave creating a cloud of electrically charged gas . Scroll down for video . Boeings patent proposes creating an arc of plasma in front of vehicles , like that shown in the diagram above , that can defect and absorb the energy shockwaves from explosions , helping to reduce the damage they cause . This , Boeing says , creates a buffer that can refract , deflect and absorb the energy contained within the shockwave . They say the device could be mounted on vehicles such as tanks and armoured personnel carriers , buildings , aircraft , ships and submarines . British military scientists have been working on a new type of armour designed to repel incoming fire from vehicles . The armour , developed by researchers at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory ( Dstl ) would use pulses of electrical energy to defelct rockets , shrapnel and other ammunition that might damage a vehicle . Engineers behind the techology claim it is possible to incorporate supercapacitors into the body of a tank or armoured personnell carrier to turn it into a kind of giant battery . When incoming fire is detected , the energy stored in the supercapacitor can be rapidly dumped onto the metal plating on the outside of the vehicle , producing a strong electromagnetic field that creates a momentary forecfield capable of repelling incoming metal . If timed correctly , the scientists behind the technology say it could help to prevent rocket propelled grenades and shells that detonate on impact from reaching their target . They claim the device could work both in the air and underwater , helping to protect assets from rockets , landmines , torpedoes and Improvised Explosive Devices . Writing in the patent , Boeing said : 'The majority of the damage caused by explosive devices results from shrapnel and shockwaves . 'Damage from shrapnel may be prevented by , for example , physical barriers . 'Shockwaves are travelling discontinuities in pressure , temperature , density and other physical qualities through a medium such as the ambient atmosphere . 'Shockwave damage is more difficult to prevent because shockwaves can traverse an intermediate medium including physical barriers . 'Damage from shockwaves may be lessened or prevented by interposing an attenuating material between the shockwave source and the object to be protected . ' Blastwaves thrown out from explosions often cause more widespread damage than the immediate blast area , often structural damage to vehicles and buildings . The high pressures and temperatures created by shockwaves can also cause secondary explosions . Recent research has also shown that blastwaves can cause devastating internal injuries to soldiers , particularly when in the enclosed space of a vehicle . Boeing 's patent proposes using lasers ( shown above ) or microwaves to create plasma to slow the shockwave . Boeing 's patent proposes using sensors that can detect the light or other electromagentic radiation - such as microwaves or infrared light - thrown out by explosion . This would then trigger an 'arc generator ' to produce a temporary force field between the vehicle or building and the advancing shockwave . It says this could be created using lasers or microwaves to rapidly heat the air in front of the vehicle to produce an area of electrically charged gas , or plasma . This change in medium would interfere with the oncoming shockwave and help to deflect its force from hitting the vehicle , says Boeing . It 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 . This graphic shows how lasers could be used to create a plasma shied protect a vehicle from a shockwave . The USS Enterprise in Star Trek ( pictured ) used a force field to help protect it from torpedos and phaser blasts . Spacecraft , vehicles and even individual robots in the Star Wars films ( pictured ) had their own shields . This would heat the gas and change its density to interfere with the path of the shockwave . 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 . These would form conductive channels through the air through which a voltage could be traced . 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 . 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 . This diagram shows how a arc generator could be mounted onto the side of a vehicle to protect it from a blast . '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 . 'This movement by the shockwave may do mechanical work against the magentic field force and remove energy from the shockwave making it weaker . ' It also says that by forming the shield in the shape of a convex lens , it can deflect the energy from the shockwave . As the density of the charged air in the forcefield is different from the surrounding air it would also cause the shockwave to be refracted .
Boeing granted patent for device to shields vehicles against shockwaves . The device uses sensors to detect an explosion and anticipate blastwave . An 'arc generator ' uses lasers , microwaves or electric current to ionise the air in front of the shockwave so that it deflects and reflects the energy . This is a very simple idea but has been around since at least the early 1900s.