How does a Taser Gun Control the Human Body
A peak voltage of 50kV (50,000 volts) is generated inside the gun, however, it delivers lesser power because of some resistance that is offered by the target medium. When a circuit that produces electrical signals (Taser waves or T-waves) is established, a series of pulses 100 micro-seconds wide are generated inside the gun. The gun generates 19 such pulses per second. By making a simple calculation using these parameters, we can get the average current emitted from the Taser gun, which is 1.9 milliamperes.
The electrical signals from a Taser gun affect the human body by exploiting its skeletal and heart muscles.
Heart Muscles: The heart muscles are made up of interconnected fibers, which are made up of cells. The cell-to-cell resistance is very low and any electrical impulse that strikes a cell can quickly pass to the other cell in very little time. The conduction tissue of the heart is designed to enable smooth functioning of the four chambers of the heart. When a jolt of current at the right frequency hits the heart, a situation known as ventricular fibrillation (uncoordinated contraction of the ventricles of the heart) is created in the heart. Tasers cause this situation inside the human heart.
Skeletal Muscles: When a human brain orders a muscle tissue to contract, an electrical impulse travels down through the motor nerve and terminates at the middle of a muscle fiber. Here, the Taser pulses exploit the skeletal muscle fibers by directly jolting the motor nerves with electricity. The electrical signal from the Taser is converted into acetylcholine and binds with gated-ion channels when it comes in contact with the muscle fibers. The receptors (gated-ion channels) open up, allowing the sodium ions from the surrounding salty fluids to flow into the muscle. We know that movement of electric ions produce voltage. Likewise, this movement of sodium ions into the cells of the muscles, increases the inner cell voltage and also triggers the nearby ion-channels. Thus, a wave of voltage runs between the ends of the muscles which make them contract.
The pulses that are emitted from the Taser gun are designed considering the chronaxie (minimum time required to cause stimulation of a muscle fiber or nerve cell) of the heart and the skeletal muscles. The electric current (1.9 mA) from the Taser gun is far below the danger zone of a healthy human body. A Taser gun can shoot a target which is up to 35 feet away. For civilians the cartridge design is limited to 15 feet. The X12, C2 (civilian model), and the M26 and X26 (police models) are some of the Taser gun models. These guns are expensive and are still a heavily debated topic.
