# Why do taser/dtun guns work?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-taser-dtun-guns-work/228190>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 8, 2004, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-taser-dtun-guns-work/228190 "2004-02-08T23:02:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-taser-dtun-guns-work/228190/1 "2004-02-08T23:02:13Z")

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The electrodes are only an inch or two apart. Why doesn’t the electricity take the shortest path and leave the rest of your body alone?

OTOH, if the electricity flows through your body to the ground, why does it need two electrodes?

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**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:** [February 8, 2004, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-taser-dtun-guns-work/228190/2 "2004-02-08T23:14:11Z")

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[How Stun Guns Work](http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/stun-gun.htm)

Here ya go. The Liquid Stun gun is interesting.

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**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\
**Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-taser-dtun-guns-work/228190/3 "2004-02-09T01:37:05Z")

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    - Well see, that’s the truth: the electricity _does_ take the shortest path, and that’s the reason they _aren’t_ effective. The electricity _does not_ short to ground, it can only short to the other electrode–because if it could short to ground, _then both people would get shocked!_ Furthermore, due to the “skin effect”, the higher the voltage used, the less it penetrates into the target’s skin. If you could hook two wires onto someone’s ears, you could probably make them do a major malfunction. But since that is not possible, all that stun-guns can do is cause temporary trembling in one area of the body.

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- Stun-guns have a very spotty record of actual effectiveness, and the claims used to sell them are often bordering on outright lies. You will know that they have become effective weapons when the military armies of the world stop carrying firearms and start carrying stun-guns instead.  
~

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**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-taser-dtun-guns-work/228190/4 "2004-02-09T05:33:28Z")

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> [@DougC](#):
>
> Furthermore, due to the “skin effect”, the higher the voltage used, the less it penetrates into the target’s skin.

Um, no. The skin effect is related to _frequency_, and has to do with the way current travels through a conductor. Since many tasers and stun guns use voltage multiplying networks, the output is often mostly DC with some relatively small AC ripple, ergo the skin effect doesn’t come into play.