Simon Tam holding a Sonic rifle.
The sonic rifle is a non-lethal weapon usually used by Alliance law enforcement, which emitts a highly-focused, low-pitched sound wave with enough force to drive a relatively large man to the ground. One benefit of the weapon, aside from its lack of lethality, is the reduced chance of property damage on the Core worlds, since the weapon seems to have no adverse effects on non-living objects.
Behind the scenes[]
The Sonic Rifle prop
The sonic rifle first appeared in the Firefly episode "Ariel."
A modified version of the sonic rifle was used as the death ray in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
