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[Evil Eye]

My claim is that a juggler cannot be injured by the electricity of a stun-gun during the act.

Stun Guns are weak useless tools. (On a healthy person)

NOT talking about tasers. I'm talking about stun guns.



On the podcast, Michael said that he would like to see his friend mess up and get  dropped to the floor.

I say it could NEVER happen (without it being acting).

He would never be in contact with it long enough to feel more than a pinch. And even if he was.... it would be in his hand not on his neck.

[alh]

WTN: I know it's been guessed, but bonus points for exact source?

It's Dara O'Briain talking to David Mitchell, about 47secs in:

David Mitchell and Dara O'Briain on Homeopathy & Psychics

good work

[Trinoc]

WTN: I know it's been guessed, but bonus points for exact source?

It's Dara O'Briain talking to David Mitchell, about 47secs in:

I concede this week's honourable mention in the podcast to grimbly for finding the actual clip.

[Swagomatic]

Here's a little stun gun video that may add a little credence to EE's claims:

Stun Gun Test	LQ | LQ+ | HQ

[Evil Eye]

Here's a little stun gun video that may add a little credence to EE's claims:

Stun Gun Test

Thanks!

That's about the size of it. "ouch"

[kem]

I'd like a video of the last time  I inadvertantly leaned on the top wire of our fence.  With sound!

[Swagomatic]

I'd like a video of the last time  I inadvertantly leaned on the top wire of our fence.  With sound!

That reminds me of when I used to have this German Shepherd dog.  He could jump over our 6' block fence, so I bought an electric fence setup to stop the jumping.  After about a week, he jumped over the fence again.  Naturally, I assumed that the electric fence wasn't working.  With supreme confidence, I grabbed the wire.  Needless to say, the fence was still working and it just about knocked me on my butt.  That dog was just a tough sonovabitch.

[kem]

I'd like a video of the last time  I inadvertantly leaned on the top wire of our fence.  With sound!

That reminds me of when I used to have this German Shepherd dog.  He could jump over our 6' block fence, so I bought an electric fence setup to stop the jumping.  After about a week, he jumped over the fence again.  Naturally, I assumed that the electric fence wasn't working.  With supreme confidence, I grabbed the wire.  Needless to say, the fence was still working and it just about knocked me on my butt.  That dog was just a tough sonovabitch.

If your dog is airborne, he won't get a jolt. Bloody magpies sit on the hot wire without effect.  Cattle, however, seem to be able to tell if the power is on by getting their nose really close, maybe using a tiny hair or whisker.  I often use a blade of grass as a voltmeter.

[grimbly]

WTN: I know it's been guessed, but bonus points for exact source?

It's Dara O'Briain talking to David Mitchell, about 47secs in:

I concede this week's honourable mention in the podcast to grimbly for finding the actual clip.

Very gracious indeed of you Trinoc - thanks 

[Paperclip.]

I think that Evil Eye is correct in saying that if a juggler was to drop a stun gun onto himself it would not cause him to become incapacitated, the worst case scenario might be some pain. 

But I think it is incorrect to characterise all stun guns as weak and useless.  I'm sure that there are cheap stun guns available which only have enough voltage difference between the probes to cause arcing and nothing else, but that does not mean that every stun gun is 'all show and no go'.  For example, the Shock 'n Awe Body Guard stun gun has a voltage of 2.9 million volts and some police issued tasers can have the firing cartridge removed to make the taser in effect a stun gun. 

Tasers work by firing darts connected to the main unit by conducting wires into the target.  The main unit the sends controlled pulses of current and voltage into the target which can cause incapacitation.  The way in which the pulses are delivered seems to be crucial in the effectiveness of the weapon.  I can't see why this technology couldn't be applied to a stun gun as well as tasers, in which case each would have the same(ish) effect. 

The only thing I could think of is whether the darts or the specific delivery of the pulses, or both are patented by the makers of the taser.  If this was the case then I can understand why tasers would be more effective in incapacitating a target that a stun gun.  The Shock 'n Awe I mentioned above seems to rely only on high voltage to cause pain and also would arc visibly so as to serve as a deterrent, but I couldn't find anything on the way the voltage is delivered(pulses and current control).  Tasers in comparison use far less voltage and carefully designed pulsing to take down a target.

This website is good but pretty detailed, http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-electronics/gadgets/how-a-taser-works/0

[Evil Eye]

How many times do I have to repeat myself and say I am talking about stun guns and not tasers?

In the interview he said it was "like a cattle-prod thing" which is a stun gun.

[Paperclip.]

That wasn't my point.  I was questioning at what point does it become a taser and not a stun gun.  And why couldn't a stun gun use the same technology as a taser, (what doe the patent cover?).  A taser is not effective because of the action of shooting the darts into a person, it is effective because of the way the current is delivered to the person through the darts.  So why couldn't a stun gun have that technology?  This is why i wondered if the patent covers that particular technology thus preventing other companies from marketing stun guns with taser like technology in them.  (Like a regular looking cattle-prod thing)

From Wikipedia (so its got to be true), "One type is a conductive energy device (CED), an electroshock gun popularly known by the brand name "Taser", which fires projectiles that administer the shock through a thin, flexible wire. Other electroshock weapons such as stun guns, stun batons, and electroshock belts administer an electric shock by direct contact."   From this all I can say is that the only difference between the two is the conductive wires, and not for sure that the technology that drives them is different. 

So if you are getting sick of repeating yourself how about you define what is a stun gun and what is a taser, just for those simple folk who live in countries where we think letting any clown who feels small and insignificant own a semi-lethal weapon or a firearm is a bad idea.

[MisterMarc]

RE: Stun Guns and Tasers

Everyone seems to keep talking about the voltage, as if that's descriptive. I'm no electrical engineer, but I thought the important measure is amperes. Yes, a stun gun can have a voltage in the millions, but most run only about 0.002 amps.  By comparison, the third rail on a subway is usually only 600 volts, but closer to 10,000 amps. Doesn't that mean that voltage on it's own is largely meaningless?

And while we're at it, isn't the resistance in your body a factor as well? Things like how you are standing, what you are wearing, if you are sweating, etc might all play big roles in that, correct? And doesn't piercing the skin result in reduced resistance, thus explaining why the taser is so much more effective?

[Paperclip.]

Information that I found on a website of a manufacturer of stun guns only talks about voltage, I couldn't find anything about the current.  While on the website of the manufacturer of the Taser, there is a lot of information on the current output of the weapon.  I assume that this is because Taser does own some sort of patent over this technology, that link I posted previously goes into detail about the Taser specifically I think.  But yes, I think that voltage on its own is largely meaningless.

I guess that piercing the skin may make the flow of current easier but I think that the effect would be tiny.  Shoes might make a difference, I think in one case if the target is hit with only 1 barb the other will form a circuit through the ground.  I guess if you had shoes on this couldn't happen?

The more I read it does seem like the Taser is effective because of tech that others don't have, of which the barbs play only a small (but important) role.

[kem]

 I guess if you had shoes on this couldn't happen?

The more I read it does seem like the Taser is effective because of tech that others don't have, of which the barbs play only a small (but important) role.

Shoes!  My fence laughs at redbands. 

And don't tasers have two wires and barbs that zip through clothing and penetrate the skin?  Kind of obviates any need for a ground.  The batteries in tasers are beefy expensive rechargeables, not a couple of AA's.