This is probably not smart. But...

[NanoDuke]

Wow, my scientific mind is currently racing at a hundred km/h...

Okay, blow-torch method:
I believe that the first thing to go would be the springs. You could probably heat the pins/springs, apply pressure and hold until it cools. Hopefully you'll have re-forged the springs into a nice, compact, un-springy state. Then you'll be able to pick without the springs pushing the pins back.

If you're looking at cheap locks that are made out of the one type of metal, then you'll end up with a hot lock that has expanded equally, thus failing your original idea.

You'll *most likely* burn the door down before you are able to do any real manipulation to the lock.


radio waves:
Forget it. The wavelength is too long. Microwaves are what you're after, but you'll need to be carrying around a high voltage magnetron to power the thing. Plus an optics table to focus the waves. Even still, the laws of physics will most definitely win in this battle.

Doing it from a distance - leave that to Hollywood. Anything that will be able to resonate pins in a lock, will also be able to interfere with the air / grain in the wood / the bones in the hand of the operator It won't be a pleasant experience.


Air Pressure:
Now this is getting interesting. Imagine a needle-like apparatus that contains 6 air lines for a 6 pin lock. You stick it in the lock, and using a computer controlled air pump, you fire up at the individual pins. You can manipulate each pin individually, with micrometer precision, just by altering the pressure of the air. Then you just cycle through the bittings from 9-9-9-9-9-9 to 0-0-0-0-0-0. It might take a while a while to get through all one million bitting combinations, especially if you have another computer controlled device that applies tension after each combination, but it'll work *thumb up*

But the million dollar question here is, how do I make such a device?

Plus, again, the laws of physics will probably beat you - blow up the lock and/or door with the pressure (victory?), interfere with neighbouring pins, etc etc


My own thought:
Similar thought to above, but instead you fire a CO2 laser onto a mirror that sits in the keyway. The mirror directs the beam up onto a pin, you blast the pin into oblivion, then move onto the next pin. No pins = free rotation - VICTORY

[nataz]

The air pressure one sounds like the concept for decoders and what not, just sub compressed air for wire feelers. I'm thinking of something like suptnik (sp?), from my understanding thats how it worked.

I'm not sure you could use compressed air to set pins to the sheer line since the air would prob leak into other pin chambers, but maybe you could use enough air pressure to overset the pin stacks similar to how you use a comb pick.

Moving down that line of thought, I wonder if instead of air, you could use a fluid with more density to increase the effect while still allowing the cylinder to turn.