Delivery
Tasers pass electricity through a pair of wires. Compressed air or nitrogen is used to propel weighted barbed hooks at the ends of these wires toward the target. A person can be hit from up to 35 feet away, reports CBC News. A Taser also may be used in a touch-stun mode. This is a backup method utilized when the target is missed. The user touches the target person directly with the unit, according to Elite Self Defense.
Process
The electricity from the Taser affects the motor and sensory functions of a person's peripheral nervous system, according to TASER International. The target is immobilized and falls to the ground because the jolt from the Taser stuns him and causes an uncontrollable contraction of his muscle tissue. The device brings about a loss of muscle control by interfering with communication between the person's brain and his muscular system, according to Elite Self Defense.
Output
The electric current from the Taser is released in a pre-set time sequence. This is a seven-second blast followed by a series of 1.8-second breaks. There's about 30 seconds per cycle. The cycle is set so the target's nervous system cannot recover right away, which would allow him to remove the probes, according to Elite Self Defense Products.
Voltage
A Taser can deliver up to 50,000 volts. Voltage is the amount of force that drives the flow of electrons, similar to water pressure in a pipe, according to CBC News. A person's body does not receive the full 50,000 volts. The electric current must pass through air and clothing. Tasers are designed to take a person down through up to 5 cm of clothing. Neither air nor clothing is a good conductor of electricity. Thus, the Taser actually delivers about 1,500 volts to the body, on average, according to Taser International. Also, the Taser's high-voltage pulse actually carries only a small current, usually 0.002 to 0.003 amps. In comparison, 60-watt lightbulb will pull 0.5 amps and a toaster will pull 5 amps. High voltage, in itself, isn't always dangerous, advises Elite Self Defense. The physical effect of an electrical shock depends on three things: the current, the current's duration, and the source of power. A typical 110-volt household current, for example, is dangerous because it can indefinitely pump many amps throughout the body.
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