Voltare -> RE: Advice sought on mini stun guns (12/14/2006 5:06:35 AM)
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Ok, so I did some homework, and here's the lowdown (sources cited below.) Be aware, this is not for the squimish. Vocabulary Time: Types' of current, AC and DC. Basically, AC is the current you get from the wall, and DC is the type from a battery (they stand for Alternating Current and Direct Current.) Tens units, Violet Wands, Stun Guns, etc all operate using DC power. Voltage, Watts, and Amps: Amps X Volts = Watts For all of our equipment, a low amperage is desired - current delivered at more than 10 mA (Milliampere, or 0.01 Amperes) can be fatal, but 1mA is barely detectable. Most of our equipment will run between 3.5 and 5 mA. By contrast, a standard 60 Watt ceiling lightbulb uses 120 volts at 0.5 Amps. This much electricity will kill you. Tenatus: A siezure of the muscles caused by external electric current (this is what actually causes someone who touches an electric wire with their hand to become unable to release it.) Fibrillation: heart condition where the organ simply flutters instead of beating properly. A current of higher than 1 mA passing directly through the heart (i.e. via pacemaker) can cause fibrillation, though a 110 Volt shock at roughly 50-60 mA from one arm through the chest to the other arm for less than a second can also cause fibrillation. Electrical Burn: the damage done to tissue when high enough electric causes the tissue to overheat (picture putting a piece of chicken in a microwave.) More than Tens Unit: Medical device typically used to relieve chronic pain. Usually battery powered, and requires the use of two electrodes to pass current directly through the skin from one electrode to the other. Can be purchased for around $100. Violet Wand: Typically used as a BDSM tool, delivers an electric shock directly to the skin, similar to a static shock (from shuffling on a carpet and then touching something metal.) Priced from $200 up. Stun Gun: Personal protection device, intended to incapacitate an individual through a 1-5 second constant contact. Can be found from $30 up. Vocabulary out of the way, here's the scoop. Normal health risks of electro play are electrical burns and cardiac arrest. If enough electricity passes through any part of the human body, it heats the tissue, damaging or destroying it. The amount depends on several factors, including the frequency (how many shocks per second), intensity (how many watts/amps and how high the voltage) and the area exposed (a foot vice a thigh.) A good place to start is 5-10 mA (Milliampere) of DC current (or 1-10 mA AC in the Violet Wand case.) Another risk is if current is passed through the heart, causing fibrillation - in NO case should current be passed through the heart (though generally speaking, a Violet wand used on the left breast is not as high of a risk, compared to placing electrodes on the front and back of the left side of the chest.) It should go without saying that any usage of electrical current above the neck would not only be dangerous, but likely to land you in prison. The risks involved can be measured in Volts and Amps. Essentially, Watts = Volts X Amps. Thus a stun gun with 300,000 volts rating is considered safe, because they are used at 2.5 mA - for a total of 750 watts. This is, of course, not considering resistance (i.e. the person's clothing and the actual tissue the shock passes through.) Such circumstances are not considered harmful, though exposure to a similar gun with 10 or more mA could be fatal to humans (thus such a weapon would be illegal in most states and countries.) Note, that in all situations, a low Amperage is the key to this type of equipment. So, essentially, a low powered stun gun used on extremeties (arms, feet, legs, buttocks) and carefully should present no serious health risk. Bear in mind, though, that electroplay is a very high risk type of activity, and could very well land you in jail. BTW, mistoferin is right, TASER is manufacturered by TASER international. Further reading here: http://www.spsenergy.com/pages/aboutElectricity.htm http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_3/2.html http://www.violetwand.org/home.htm http://science.howstuffworks.com/question501.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_shock http://www.pge.com/microsite/PGE_dgz/body/hp.html http://www.burnsurvivor.com/injury_examples_electrocution.html
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