What are stun guns and how do they work? Health24 investigated.

The Taser (from Taser waves of T-waves) stun gun looks like something from a science fiction movie – a pistol-like device, which runs off eight batteries. It uses compressed air to fire two needle-tipped darts that trail electric cable back to the handset. The Taser gun has a range of 4 – 6 metres.

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The stun gun is just what it says – it is used to stun an attacker or suspect temporarily and put them out of action without killing them. When the darts strike a 50 000 volt charge is released, which lasts for five seconds.

The basic idea behind a stun gun, is that it disrupts your body's basic electrical signals. Stun guns generate charge that has high voltage, but low amperage. That means that it packs quite a punch, but does not have that much intensity.

Stun guns interfere with the electrical signals sent from a person's brain, so all other lines of communication go down. The muscles and nerves have an electrical current applied to them, and normal functioning becomes impossible. This explains why someone who has been stunned in this manner may become temporarily confused or paralysed. But they cannot shock someone who touches them after they have been stunned.

Stun guns 'a deterrent'
Stun guns have also been found to have a huge deterrent effect. While stun guns generally don't kill, the experience of being stunned with one of these, is extremely painful, even though it does not leave a wound. But according to Amnesty International, stun guns have been linked to 70 deaths in the US. They point out that they cause intolerable pain, and may increase the risk of heart failure in people who are on drugs, or who have other health problems.

In order to combat misuse of the Taser stun guns, it releases up to 40 confetti-like ID tags on being fired. This enables investigators to identify the officer who fired the gun.

In South Africa, the police do not use stun guns, but do use rubber bullets in certain situations. These, while hardly ever lethal, can inflict some nasty wounds. (Susan Erasmus, Health24)
 

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