January 12, 2008

Don’t Tase Me, Chick!

What happens to the brain when being Tasered? What kind of long term damage might occur from shooting 50,000 volts directly into a human being? I'm most disturbed by the rush to find better ways to hurt each other. Civilization needs to evolve beyond better ways to club each other to death.
For those who like a little music with their personal protection: the Taser that plays MP3s
Richard Wray, The Guardian, Wednesday January 9 2008
[...] Arizona-based Taser International sells the handheld stun guns under the rather hyperbolic banner of "Changing the World and Protecting Lives". It maintains that the iTaser "allows for both personal protection and personal music for people on the go".
[...]
Half a million Tasers are already in use globally despite warnings from Amnesty International that they have been linked to more than 70 deaths in the US. According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation a further 18 people have died after being stunned by a Taser in Canada.
Taser International, however, maintains that the devices merely stun people and, with proper training, are otherwise harmless. The guns shoot two small probes, at speeds of more than 48 metres a second, which are connected to the device by insulated wire. Those probes deliver an electric charge that causes instant neuro-muscular incapacitation, causing the victim to crumple to the floor. They also lose the ability to move for a few seconds.
[...]
The gun generates a staggering 50,000 volts but the actual ampage - which is potentially very dangerous to life - is a mere 0.0021 amps, while a household plug carries 13 amps. The ampage is so low that the Taser's two lithium camera batteries can stun 100,000 people, but used in a digital camera they would provide just 100 photo flashes.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jan/09/gadgets

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