# How does this Shock Pen work? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 28, 2003, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-shock-pen-work/191372 "2003-07-28T04:42:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rayray5884](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@rayray5884](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayray5884)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-shock-pen-work/191372/1 "2003-07-28T04:42:16Z")
I purchased one of [these](http://www.biffleys.com/Novelty/shockpen.htm) recently and I’m kind of curious as to how it works. I’ve tried to take it apart but the only part that comes out is the AAA battery. Anyone have any idea how this cheap gag works? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-shock-pen-work/191372/2 "2003-07-28T05:11:29Z")
A buddy of mine had one of those at work Friday. I was able to avoid getting shocked by it because I noticed right away what he was doing but apparently it hurts pretty bad. I must’ve seen at least 6 or 7 people scream/jump/throw it across the room. I did seem to hear it making a slight humming noise. Maybe that would be a clue to someone more electrically knowledgable as to how it works? ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-shock-pen-work/191372/3 "2003-07-28T05:19:32Z")
Probably has a circuit that charges a capacitor, like a camera flash. I made something similar when I was a kid, except using a pencilcase - I wasnt smart enough to minaturise it. ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-shock-pen-work/191372/4 "2003-07-28T05:31:17Z")
Its probably like a flash camera circuit, but it may not use the capacitor step. Just the charging circuit alone can give you quite a sensation. The humming noise is due to the high frequency transformer. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-shock-pen-work/191372/5 "2003-07-28T07:45:54Z")
There is another possibility; that it contains a small electric motor with an eccentric weight on the spindle; all that would happen in this case is that it would _vibrate_ in your hand, but this can be sufficiently surprising that the adrenaline spike makes you feel like you’ve been zapped. IIRC some of the fairground electric shock endurance machines work this way - by vibrating the handles very rapidly. ---
**Author:** ![rayray5884](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@rayray5884](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayray5884)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-shock-pen-work/191372/6 "2003-07-29T05:04:04Z")
I know what game your talking about **Mangetout** but this pen is definetely a shocker. You have to hold the pen as you push the button or there is no shock. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-shock-pen-work/191372/7 "2003-07-29T05:37:10Z")
I have a lighter that works like that. Hurts like hell if your not ready for it. Inside it appears to have a electromagnet that causes the DC from the AAA batt. to turn into a “pseudo” AC. Well, if makes the current flow and stop flowing very quickly (On, off, on, off, on, VERY rapidly). I suppose it must use the coil that creates the electromagnet as a step up transformer also, since I don’t see a seperate one. If I had a batterey and multimeter somewhere nearby I’d check the voltage across it, but I wouldn’t know where to find either one at 12:43 in the morning. (Regardless of what the voltage is, I found out it’s not a practical joke that should be played on your 14 year old sister at chuch to pass time. (She shreiked and tossed the thing a couple pews away. Do you know how hard it is to try and get it back without people playing with it as they hand it to you?).) ---
**Author:** ![NevarMore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7feea3/32.png) [@NevarMore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NevarMore)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-shock-pen-work/191372/8 "2003-07-29T13:57:14Z")
Next time you have a one-time use camera and are done using it, keep winding for a minute then take it apart and develop the film Havign done that take out the battery and circuit board flash assembly. Put the battery in and you’ll quickly learn exactly what is in the pen. These mechanisms could easily be rearranged to fit into a largish pen. The only things missing from the pen would be the flash and the trigger switch. The trigger contacts would be replaced with two isolated metal parts on the pen, when your hand touches both at the same time the juice will flow and you’ll get zapped. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-shock-pen-work/191372/9 "2003-07-30T01:16:49Z")
But isn’t that just unloading a capacitor (quickly) my shock lighter will work for as long as you hold the button down. ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-this-shock-pen-work/191372/10 "2003-07-30T01:34:06Z")
As I pointed out, you don’t need the capacitor. The circuit uses an audio transformer with feedback coil to trigger a transistor; this in turn flips the transformer on and off to chop up the battery’s DC. The rapid switching action produces HV on the secondary side - this is all you need to touch in order to get a shock.