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> The array physically doesn't have a failure mode where the power gets concentrated in a single direction

Ok, but now the software can cause the failure. Not sure if that's much of a relief.

For the downvoters:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beamforming

It is possible for the array to produce a concentrated beam into one direction. The software determines when that happens and in what direction.

Beamforming with a phased array is talked about in the article, but you are conflating two very different types of arrays. You can't form beams with the types of macroscopic arrays I was referring to, since they consist of macroscopic array elements whose phase cannot be controlled, and reside behind a fixed lens that ensures that they all point in different directions.

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