Interesting Christmas gift

[Sandyn]

My wife got an interesting present, A candle lighter, I have never seen this type before, so was fascinated by the thing. Unboxed it, switched it on and got this beautiful little plasma across the electrodes, I could smell the ozone, which reminded me of the old air cleaner I used to have years ago. What would any good engineer do when faced with a device like this....well poke it with my finger to make sure it was safe. No warning labels on the unit, it had a CE symbol on the box, so the box was safe!! lol.
It has writing on the box which was so small (1.4 point). I had no chance of reading it. I don't normally walk around with a microscope in my pocket. Wow!! did I get a belt from the thing!! not near as bad as from a ignition coil, but it felt similar. Fortunately no burn, but that would come in a moment, I was fascinated by it. Could it really light something? so I tried it on the plastic bag the unit came in. The bag immediately ignited, so I had to snuff it out with my finger and thumb. That's when I got the molten plastic burn!


It works amazingly well for candles, but its a stun gun disguised as a candle lighter. I see there has already been a court case with a plasma cigarette lighter, which was dismissed because you couldn't access the electrodes, but this little beauty, is a bit more exposed, I've had great fun with it and it lit the wood burner this morning. No more crappy butane lighters.

It generates a 15kHz, 7kV half sine wave output, but not sure what current it can sustain....not much.

 

[Doug B]

From the sounds of things you’re gonna have to be on your toes from now on Sandy

 

[XH558]

I have a couple of similar devices. Great for their purpose but I shudder to think what they could do in the wrong hands....................

 

[guineafowl21]

At that frequency it’s highly unlikely to penetrate deep enough to do anything fatal. And with the electrodes that close, the most it could do is cause local tissue burns which, of course, a standard lighter could also do.

Take it apart and show us a schematic, or send it to BigClive.

 

[JandK]

Reminds me of a cattle prodder.

 

[Sandyn]

I am so tempted to give someone a poke with it.... It is similar to a cattle prod, now where did the cat go?.....I can't take it to bits it's my wife's. You can find instructions how to build on the internet. Just search for how to build an arc lighter. Kits are cheap.

 

[Terrytpot]

Reminds of the following:

Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 15th anniversary and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Julie.. What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse- sized tazer. The effects of the tazer were supposed to be short lived, with no long-term adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety.....??


WAY TOO COOL! Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home. I loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button and pressed it agains t a metal surface at the same time; I'd get the blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs. AWESOME!!!


Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Julie what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave. Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two triple-A batteries, right? There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target. I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second) and thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat. But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised. Am I wrong?


So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, and tazer in another. The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water. Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the batteries. All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5" long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference; pretty cute really and (loaded with two itsy, bitsy triple-A batteries) thinking to myself, 'no possible way!' What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best.. .?


I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side as to say, 'don't do it dipstick,' reasoning that a one second burst from such a tiny little ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad. I decided to give myself a one second burst just for heck of it. I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and . .


HOLY MOTHER OF GOD . . WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION . .


I'm pretty sure Jessie Ventura ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs? The cat was making meowing sounds I had never heard before, clinging to a picture frame hanging above the fireplace, obviously in an attempt to avoid getting slammed by my body flopping all over the living room.


Note: If you ever feel compelled to 'mug' yourself with a tazer, one note of caution: there is no such thing as a one second burst when you zap yourself! You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor.. A three second burst would be considered conservative.


A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape. My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace. The recliner was upside down and about 8 feet or so from where it originally was. My triceps, right thigh and both nipples were still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up with novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs. I had no control over the drooling.


Apparently I pooped on myself, but was too numb to know for sure and my sense of smell was gone. I saw a faint smoke cloud above my head which I believe came from my hair. I'm still looking for my testicles and I'm offering a significant reward for their safe return!


P.S. My wife, can't stop laughing about my experience, loved the gift, and now regularly threatens me with it!
If you think education is difficult, try being stupid !!!

 

[toolsntat]

Reminds of the following:

Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 15th anniversary and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Julie.. What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse- sized tazer. The effects of the tazer were supposed to be short lived, with no long-term adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety.....??


WAY TOO COOL! Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home. I loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button and pressed it agains t a metal surface at the same time; I'd get the blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs. AWESOME!!!


Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Julie what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave. Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two triple-A batteries, right? There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target. I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second) and thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat. But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised. Am I wrong?


So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, and tazer in another. The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water. Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the batteries. All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5" long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference; pretty cute really and (loaded with two itsy, bitsy triple-A batteries) thinking to myself, 'no possible way!' What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best.. .?


I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side as to say, 'don't do it dipstick,' reasoning that a one second burst from such a tiny little ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad. I decided to give myself a one second burst just for heck of it. I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and . .


HOLY MOTHER OF GOD . . WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION . .


I'm pretty sure Jessie Ventura ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs? The cat was making meowing sounds I had never heard before, clinging to a picture frame hanging above the fireplace, obviously in an attempt to avoid getting slammed by my body flopping all over the living room.


Note: If you ever feel compelled to 'mug' yourself with a tazer, one note of caution: there is no such thing as a one second burst when you zap yourself! You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor.. A three second burst would be considered conservative.


A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape. My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace. The recliner was upside down and about 8 feet or so from where it originally was. My triceps, right thigh and both nipples were still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up with novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs. I had no control over the drooling.


Apparently I pooped on myself, but was too numb to know for sure and my sense of smell was gone. I saw a faint smoke cloud above my head which I believe came from my hair. I'm still looking for my testicles and I'm offering a significant reward for their safe return!


P.S. My wife, can't stop laughing about my experience, loved the gift, and now regularly threatens me with it!
If you think education is difficult, try being stupid !!!

First class.
Best laugh in ages....
Cheers Andy

 

[sneggysteve]

 

[Sandyn]

Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest.

Absolutely brilliant. .

 

[Solicitus]

Its all great fun until the cops pay a visit, talking about s 5 (1A) a of the Firearms Act 1968, and your brief mentions the 5 year minimum sentence.....

https://keithborer.co.uk/news/it-torch-lighter-or-stun-gun

 

[guineafowl21]

Its all great fun until the cops pay a visit, talking about s 5 (1A) a of the Firearms Act 1968, and your brief mentions the 5 year minimum sentence.....

https://keithborer.co.uk/news/it-torch-lighter-or-stun-gun

This arc lighter operates at 15 kHz, which can cause local burns, but has little effect on neuromuscular activity. Perhaps a small jolt. We are acutely sensitive to tiny currents, being electrically controlled creatures, but can rapidly habituate. I was taught to grab hold of a live electric fence wire to move it to a new spot - the secret is to grab on tight and spread the contact area.

A Taser operates at 19 Hz. At this frequency, you get severe pain and muscle spasm, and greater penetration.

In terms of medical physics, these devices are chalk and cheese. I have no doubt that the average copper might see an arc device and think ‘stun gun!’, and charge someone, but the chances of being convicted under section 5 are remote.

 

[Terrytpot]

As so many of you enjoyed the "Taser" tale of woe I thought you might also like the "Divers bad day at the office" too so here it is

When you are feeling down about your job.....

This is even funnier when you realize it's real!
Next time you have a bad day at work, think of this
guy.

Rob is a commercial saturation diver for Global Divers
in Louisiana. He performs underwater repairs on
offshore drilling rigs. Below is an E-mail he sent to
his sister.

She then sent it to radio station 103.2 FM in Ft.
Wayne, Indiana, who was sponsoring a worst job
experience contest. Needless to say, she won.


Hi Sue,

Just another note from your bottom-dwelling brother.
Last week I Had a bad day at the office. I know you've
been feeling down lately at work, So I thought I would
share my dilemma with you to make you realize it's Not
so bad after all.

Before I can tell you what happened to me, I first
must bore you with a few technicalities of my job. As
you know, my office lies at the bottom of the sea. I
wear a suit to the office. It's a wetsuit.

This time of year the water is quite cool. So what we
do to keep warm is this: We have a diesel powered
industrial water heater. This $20,000 piece of
equipment sucks the water out of the sea. It heats it
to a delightful temperature. It then pumps it down to
the diver through a garden hose, which is taped to the
air hose.

Now this sounds like a pretty good plan, and I've used
it several times with no complaints. What I do, when I
get to the bottom and start working, is take the hose
and stuff it down the back of my wetsuit. This floods
my whole suit with warm water. It's like working in a
Jacuzzi.

Everything was going well until all of a sudden, my
butt started to itch. So, of course, I scratched it.
This only made things worse. Within a few seconds my
butt started to burn. I pulled the hose out from my
back, but the damage was done. In agony I realized
what had happened.

The hot water machine had sucked up a jellyfish and
pumped it into my suit. Now, since I don't have any
hair on my back, the jellyfish couldn't stick to it.
However, the crack of my butt was not as fortunate.

When I scratched what I thought was an itch, I was
actually grinding the jellyfish into the crack of my
butt. I informed the dive supervisor of my dilemma
over the communicator. His instructions were unclear
due to the fact that he, along with five other divers,
were all laughing hysterically.

Needless to say I aborted the dive.

I was instructed to make three agonizing in-water
decompression stops totaling thirty-five minutes
before I could reach the surface to begin my chamber
dry decompression. When I arrived at the surface, I
was wearing nothing but my brass helmet.

As I climbed out of the water, the medic, with tears
of laughter running down his face, handed me a tube of
cream and told me to rub it on my butt as soon as I
got in the chamber.

The cream put the fire out, but I couldn't poop for
two days because my butt was swollen shut.

So, next time you're having a bad day at work, think
about how much worse it would be if you had a
jellyfish shoved up your butt. Now repeat to yourself,

"I love my job, I love my job, I love my job."