Patent ID: 8082849

Claim:
An electrical power disruption device comprising: a hand-held launcher including a launch tube; a projectile configured to be propelled upwardly from the launch tube, the projectile including: a housing defining a chamber; a plurality of electrically conductive streamers comprising materials having a width and material composition configured to provide a conductive bridge between electrical contacts of an electrical substation or building power distribution equipment of under 400,000 volts and above 120 volts for a period required to trip safety circuit breakers of said electrical substation or building power distribution equipment, said plurality of electrically conductive streamers are received within the chamber in a stored mode, each of the electrically conductive streamers including an elongated flexible body having opposing first and second ends, wherein said plurality of electrically conductive streamers are stored in stacked groups within said housing in longitudinally spaced layers; and an ejector received within the chamber comprising a firing control system and configured to eject the electrically conductive streamers from the chamber of the housing in a plurality of waves corresponding to successive layers and in a streaming mode at a predetermined point in said projectile's flight path based on operation of said firing control system, wherein the opposing first and second ends of the body of each streamer define a first length in the stored mode and define a second length in the streaming mode, the second length greater than the first length when said plurality of conductive streamers are extended in said streaming mode.