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Simon Kerimov
People argue as to whether or not police and security forces should be loading SnS rounds as standard gear. The argument is that a tiny taser like this is overpowered and will take Shadowrunners down for the count every time.

They can't.

As police or security forces, their interest is to protect their clients' interests, which includes the general buildings they work out of. Shadowrunners are a threat to that, and frequently carry explosives but are too cheap to shell out for non-conductive armor. The risk of this happening is more than enough to cause them to load rounds that don't explode, as normal ammunition won't set off plastic dynamite.

Prisons will use SnS as standard gear, and military bases may as well, but anyone else is contractually obligated not to.
Critias
Well, that's one way of looking at it, I guess.
Yerameyahu
Nah.
Badmoodguy88
Plausible fluff if you also make it clear that anyone carrying unprotected plastic explosives will blow up when hit with enough electricity.
Yerameyahu
Plausibility depends very much on the explosives. Plastic, no. Maybe if they had black powder. biggrin.gif

I guess it's a possible house rule, albeit a very weird one. Do shadowrunners really even carry 'raw' explosives all that much?
Simon Kerimov
QUOTE
$imon$ez:
Arsenal p89
“Shadowrunners might be understandably nervous about bullets impacting on their explosives. Luckily, this rarely causes explosives to detonate if regular ammo is used. With explosive and EX-explosive rounds, though, the rules for sympathetic detonation (p. 90) should be used if the gamemaster decides a bullet strikes an explosive charge. Tracer rounds can ignite fire-sensitive explosives in a similar way, while both stick-n-shock rounds and taser darts hitting an electrical detonator or circuit will set it off instantly."
$imoff:

--$imon$ez is an opensource [Knowsoft]::code provided by TrnZhX--


There are a number of references in the "Things I can't do in Shadowrun Anymore" that make me think a number of runners do carry explosives regularly. A half kilo of cutting charges can do some amazing things if it doesn't detonate inside your load-out vest.
Sengir
1.) You don't carry explosives with the detonators in place. Besides safety reasons you often don't know where to put the detonator until the charge is placed and tamped.
2.) So let's suppose the charges the runners are carrying loosely with them go off. The result will be a bloody carnage and the area will require some renovation, but unless America's love for drywall has led to corp HQs being built from that stuff (or the runners were carrying a literal truckload) the building should remain sound. Bringing down a building, or at least causing enough structural damage so that it has to be brought down, requires more than a few semtex packs loosely placed in a random corridor.
Badmoodguy88
What you say is very true but it could still work as plausible fluff. What is in regulations does not always make sense.
Ascalaphus
Tasers are legal to own and carry for civilians. Runners that carry munitions that'll explode if they get in a scuffle with common people are very, very stupid.
suoq
I don't understand why the stick-n-shock would set off explosive.

A blasting cap requires .5 (cheap) to 1.5 (military) amps to blow. The amps in a military blasting charge should kill a human.

A taser should not be delivering more than .004 amps. A violet wand is usually less than .001 amps. My violet wand cranked up will still arc over 1/4" and hurt like a mother. I don't want to think about my violet wand putting out .005 amps. I really don't. (I've never played with or been hit by a taser. I don't really have any desire to.)

So the proposed regulation says "don't use a .005 amp taser because it might set off explosives that need .5 amps". That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

Edit: For purposes of this discussion, a taser, a violet wand, and a tesla coil are all basically the same thing. LOTS of voltage, very little current. A blasting cap requires a good chunk of current.

Edit: I'd like to add http://www.fbodaily.com/archive/2005/08-Au...BO-00873949.htm which has an interesting spec regarding how much current.
QUOTE
TEN (10) M6 BLASTING CAPS CONNECTED IN SERIES THROUGH FULL LENGTHS OF THEIR LEADS SHALL BE CAPABLE OF BEING INITIATED BY THE APPLICATION OF A CURRENT OF 1.50 TO 1.51 AMPERES FOR A TIME OF 1.5 TO 1.6 MILLISECONDS. FIFTY (50) M6 BLASTING CAPS CONNECTED IN SERIES THROUGH FULL LENGTHS OF THEIR LEADS SHALL BE CAPABLE OF BEING INITIATED BY THE APPLICATION OF A CURRENT OF 1.50 TO 1.51 AMPERES FOR A TIME OF 1.5 TO 1.6 MILLISECONDS. M6 CAPS SHALL NOT BE INITIATED WITH AN ELECTRIC CURRENT OF 200 TO 210 MILLIAMPERES FOR THE DURATION OF 5 SECONDS.
Sengir
QUOTE (suoq @ Aug 28 2010, 02:28 PM) *
I don't understand why the stick-n-shock would set off explosive.

A blasting cap requires .5 (cheap) to 1.5 (military) amps to blow. The amps in a military blasting charge should kill a human.

Remember that Shadowrun "blasting caps" are more electronic than electric, complete with wireless connection...yet another reason to keep the things seperate from the actual explosives.
Yerameyahu
That doesn't seem like a very convincing reason, Sengir, but you're dead on about the second part: it's the detonators that blow, not the explosives. Also, it's direct hits; at the very least, your bombs are in a pocket or something, which means no direct hits, period.
tagz
QUOTE (suoq @ Aug 28 2010, 01:28 PM) *
I don't understand why the stick-n-shock would set off explosive.

A blasting cap requires .5 (cheap) to 1.5 (military) amps to blow. The amps in a military blasting charge should kill a human.

A taser should not be delivering more than .004 amps. A violet wand is usually less than .001 amps. My violet wand cranked up will still arc over 1/4" and hurt like a mother. I don't want to think about my violet wand putting out .005 amps. I really don't. (I've never played with or been hit by a taser. I don't really have any desire to.)

So the proposed regulation says "don't use a .005 amp taser because it might set off explosives that need .5 amps". That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

Edit: For purposes of this discussion, a taser, a violet wand, and a tesla coil are all basically the same thing. LOTS of voltage, very little current. A blasting cap requires a good chunk of current.

Edit: I'd like to add http://www.fbodaily.com/archive/2005/08-Au...BO-00873949.htm which has an interesting spec regarding how much current.

I work with electricity on a daily basis. While what you say about the current usage of those devices is true, Amperage is not controlled like that.

A high voltage device still has the potential for high amperage if it encounters low resistance. The average resistance of a human being is anywhere between 1000Ω and 100,000Ω depending on circumstances and body chemistry. The resistivity of copper is (20 °C) 16.78 nΩ·m, making it the second most conductive metal. A high voltage source that finds such a low resistance path to ground will immediately create a extremely powerful current. Obviously, a taser will have an overcurrent protective device such as fuse or trip breaker, but it will not cut the current until it already has exceeded it's rating, be that by .5Amps or 100Amps.

What does that mean? That yes, it's possible for a taser to produce enough amperage for a moment to set off detonation charges.

Is this likely? Not in normal circumstances, extremely unlikely. But, when you throw in cyberlimbs and wires running through body... the likelyhood increases. At least enough that it may have happened once and prompted some politically motivated, reflexive law to a media hyped scenario.
suoq
QUOTE (tagz @ Aug 28 2010, 09:52 AM) *
What does that mean? That yes, it's possible for a taser to produce enough amperage for a moment to set off detonation charges.

Is this likely? Not in normal circumstances, extremely unlikely. But, when you throw in cyberlimbs and wires running through body... the likelyhood increases. At least enough that it may have happened once and prompted some politically motivated, reflexive law to a media hyped scenario.
Again, I don't understand. There's a device (stick-n-shock) that is assumed to have two tiny tips which will, upon contact, have current flowing across them like a taser. Are you saying the current is then running from one tip of the ammo through the cyberlimbs and wires in the body to one connector on the detonation cap (which was dangerously close to the explosives), out the other connector to a ground (instead of the other tip of the ammo, perhaps due to some malfunction in the assembly of the ammo?) and in doing so exceeded the necessary amperage for enough time to activate the charge in the detonator, exploding the explosives?

I don't work with electronics every day, but I do have a background in it. Please explain to me how this is actually happening so I can understand.

Also, given the same scenario, wouldn't a person not carrying explosives simply die from that same amperage for that same amount of time stopping the heart (given the same cyberlimbs and wires running though the body explanation).

I don't see how it can be non-lethal AND still set of detonators. The current over time to stop the heart is less than the current over time to set off a detonator.
CanRay
All I can remember from my work with electricity is flying back and a major urge to never get hit by a taser.
tagz
QUOTE (suoq @ Aug 28 2010, 04:35 PM) *
Again, I don't understand. There's a device (stick-n-shock) that is assumed to have two tiny tips which will, upon contact, have current flowing across them like a taser. Are you saying the current is then running from one tip of the ammo through the cyberlimbs and wires in the body to one connector on the detonation cap (which was dangerously close to the explosives), out the other connector to a ground (instead of the other tip, perhaps due to some malfunction in the assembly of the ammo?) and in doing so exceeded the necessary amperage for enough time to activate the charge in the detonator, exploding the explosives?

I don't work with electronics every day, but I do have a background in it. Please explain to me how this is actually happening so I can understand.

Also, given the same scenario, wouldn't a person not carrying explosives simply die from that same amperage for that same amount of time stopping the heart (given the same cyberlimbs and wires running though the body explanation).

I don't see how it can be non-lethal AND still set of detonators. The current over time to stop the heart is less than the current over time to set off the detonator.

An overcurrent protection device is not instantaneous. It has a lag time, dependent on the amount of current, in the fractions of seconds. In the instance of a .5Amp instantaneous fuse receiving 1Amp of current may take up to .1 seconds to blow. Instantaneous to you and me, that's about the human reaction speed, but in the realm of circuitry and electrical components it's long enough for drastic and unexpected effects to happen 10 to 100 times over.

Again, so unlikely it really doesn't matter. It's like the odds of getting struck by lightning, going to another town, and getting stuck again... in the same hour. But, you increase the odds a lot when this imaginary person is chasing a storm with a lightning rod (a metaphor for a cybered Runner i suppose).

As for the heart part, well, in this case it HAS to run through human resistance, whereas the explosives there is the possibility of it running through objects that are condusive to current flow. And for the example of wires in the person... well, i doubt anyone really wants to play a game where a commonly used non-lethal round is lethal to YOU because of an upgrade you broke the bank on.
tagz
Anyhow, we're derailing the thread. Personally, I think that the concept works ok as fluff. Like I said previously it only takes one instance of something to make a stupid policy. How many bombs have we found in shoes at the airport? Very few I'd wager, but all it took was one guy trying to light his feet on fire on a plane and now we all have to stop and X-ray our shoes now.

Though I doubt with different corporations they would ALL adopt such a policy. I mean, at the very least the corp that manufactures SnS will still use them if for no other reason then the savings on using their own product.

Personally, I think other fluff might work better. Like for instance a botched recall. Lets say a large amount of SnS was shipped out faulty, lets say hitting with too much voltage or bad overcurrent devices. A couple people get hospitolized. The manufacturers at first tried to hide the fact until it became a media disaster. Recall on the bad ammo, but public trust of the ammo decreased and therefor you see it a little less then what one might expect given the crazy goodness of the ammo.
suoq
deleted. was written while the post above was being written and I don't see the point now. If someone wants their NPCs to not use S-n-S, just don't use S-n-S.
CanRay
QUOTE (tagz @ Aug 28 2010, 10:52 AM) *
But, you increase the odds a lot when this imaginary person is chasing a storm with a lightning rod.

You double your odds if you're screaming, "All Gods are wankers!" at the top of your lungs. nyahnyah.gif
Faradon
In the game I run SnS really has almost no chance of setting of an explosive kept in a storage device on a runner. Some of my runners have gone as far as to buy bags with a non-conductive material coating them (like a ruthenium coating for an explosives satchel) due to these fears.

The only times I'd really worry about an explosive detonating is from either physical spells (lightning bolt vs plastic explosive and fireball vs TNT) or intentional destruction (SnS being fired with an aimed shot modifier at the plastic explosive in the runner's hand.)

Even under the above circumstances I tend to apply "D&D" logic to such things. If a player is hit with a lightning bolt that hit him by 1-2 net successes and soaks some, I tend not to worry about such side effects. If the attacker beat them on the initial roll by more than 4 net successes (crit hit style) or there was a glitch / critical glich on the player's dodge or resistance roll... then that might be another story.
Simon Kerimov
suoq has a good point as far as the current is concerned.

The Taser M26-C discharges 50,000 volts at about 25 watts.

Watts = Volts*Current
Current = 25 watts/50,000 volts
Current = 0.0005 amps or 0.5 miliamps.

I can't find the resistance of plastic explosives (for some reason no one likes to publish details about explosives where terrorists or gamers can get to them. go figure), but we can use the 0.5 amps to figure out what the resistance would need to be.

Volts = Current*Resistance
Resistance = 50,000 volts / 0.5 amps
Resistance = 100,000 ohms
1 mega ohm

I have no idea if that is a likely resistance for something to have, but it's a place to start.
Tymeaus Jalynsfein
QUOTE (Simon Kerimov @ Aug 28 2010, 02:29 PM) *
suoq has a good point as far as the current is concerned.

The Taser M26-C discharges 50,000 volts at about 25 watts.

Watts = Volts*Current
Current = 25 watts/50,000 volts
Current = 0.0005 amps or 0.5 miliamps.

I can't find the resistance of plastic explosives (for some reason no one likes to publish details about explosives where terrorists or gamers can get to them. go figure), but we can use the 0.5 amps to figure out what the resistance would need to be.

Volts = Current*Resistance
Resistance = 50,000 volts / 0.5 amps
Resistance = 100,000 ohms
1 mega ohm

I have no idea if that is a likely resistance for something to have, but it's a place to start.


Plastic Explosives (C4 in particular) burn without detonating (I Used to cook MRE's with it all the time in the Gulf War)... Electrical Detonators, on the other hand, are susceptible to detonation by Current... Unfortunately, the current you ended up with is not enough to detonate a standard Military Electical Detonator (At least not the ones I used when I was in the Marine Corps, and I do not see them reducing their standards)... smokin.gif
Simon Kerimov
QUOTE (Tymeaus Jalynsfein @ Aug 28 2010, 02:56 PM) *
Plastic Explosives (C4 in particular) burn without detonating (I Used to cook MRE's with it all the time in the Gulf War)... Electrical Detonators, on the other hand, are susceptible to detonation by Current... Unfortunately, the current you ended up with is not enough to detonate a standard Military Electical Detonator (At least not the ones I used when I wan in the Marine Corps, and I do not see them reducing their standards)... smokin.gif


Okay, so 50,000 volts/1.5 amps = 33.33 kΩ. Does that come closer? Explosives are stable to keep this sort of thing from happening, and I think they probably have a high resistance. That said, my real life knowledge and interests in explosives and flammables stopped around the pyro boy scout stage. Magnesium kindling starters are cool and all, but don't relate in any meaningful way to this.
Tymeaus Jalynsfein
QUOTE (Simon Kerimov @ Aug 28 2010, 02:16 PM) *
Okay, so 50,000 volts/1.5 amps = 33.33 kΩ. Does that come closer? Explosives are stable to keep this sort of thing from happening, and I think they probably have a high resistance. That said, my real life knowledge and interests in explosives and flammables stopped around the pyro boy scout stage. Magnesium kindling starters are cool and all, but don't relate in any meaningful way to this.


1.5 Amps is closer, if what I am remembering is accurate... and yes, Explosives are exceedingly stable these days... it is almost always the detonators that are susceptible/the weak link...

But Magnesium Kindling starters are fun...
CanRay
"You are the weakest link..." *Kah, boom*
Jaid
1.5 amps, as was already mentioned, would kill the runner anyways. in point of fact, 15 milliamps will cause serious problems. as i recall, somewhere around 5 milliamps is all that is needed to seriously injure you, and even lower current than that will still hurt like crazy.

as far as the megohm resistance, it's not all that unlikely in general, but i have no idea how likely it would be in a detonator. but really, you can get individual resistors with a lot more resistance than that, and they'd be quite tiny.
Sengir
QUOTE (Yerameyahu @ Aug 28 2010, 02:48 PM) *
That doesn't seem like a very convincing reason, Sengir

Not at all. But if we already assume that a SnS round hits the (small) detonator, which is already placed in the charge, which is carried by a runner who just happens to stand next to the structure's archilles heel, we might as well add another insane assumption wink.gif


Of course if your GM says "the guards don't use SnS because they are scared to set off explosives" that's fine, as long as this logic was born out of plotline necessities and not vice versa. As a current example from my group, if your GM decides you are not going to pick up a weapon and explains it by saying "well, the AK the guard just dropped got damaged by the fall", that's just fine. If your GM believes that IRL dropping a weapon to the floor renders it unusuable and does not let you pick up any weapons because of that belief, that sucks.
Ascalaphus
I can't around this; shouldn't the shadowrunners be more scared of this than the guards? Scared enough not to carry unprotected explosives?
Tymeaus Jalynsfein
QUOTE (Ascalaphus @ Aug 28 2010, 05:04 PM) *
I can't around this; shouldn't the shadowrunners be more scared of this than the guards? Scared enough not to carry unprotected explosives?


This is generally why I carried detonators on the opposite side of my body from the actual explosives... just an extra bit of precaution, even if was not actually needed in the long run... wobble.gif
X-Kalibur
QUOTE (Sengir @ Aug 28 2010, 04:25 PM) *
Not at all. But if we already assume that a SnS round hits the (small) detonator, which is already placed in the charge, which is carried by a runner who just happens to stand next to the structure's archilles heel, we might as well add another insane assumption wink.gif


Of course if your GM says "the guards don't use SnS because they are scared to set off explosives" that's fine, as long as this logic was born out of plotline necessities and not vice versa. As a current example from my group, if your GM decides you are not going to pick up a weapon and explains it by saying "well, the AK the guard just dropped got damaged by the fall", that's just fine. If your GM believes that IRL dropping a weapon to the floor renders it unusuable and does not let you pick up any weapons because of that belief, that sucks.


Yeah, but stealing corp issued weapons seems like a bad idea on so many levels.
Starmage21
QUOTE (X-Kalibur @ Aug 30 2010, 11:53 AM) *
Yeah, but stealing corp issued weapons seems like a bad idea on so many levels.

Not if your team has a tag eraser and a decent hacker.
DWC
QUOTE (Tymeaus Jalynsfein @ Aug 28 2010, 07:40 PM) *
This is generally why I carried detonators on the opposite side of my body from the actual explosives... just an extra bit of precaution, even if was not actually needed in the long run... wobble.gif


Or you require that one person carry the detonators and another carries the explosives. That's our usual approach and it hasn't failed spectacularly yet.
Dumori
Just wait till you fall on each other and an electrified rail as the train the guy your extracting heads to wards you....
Yerameyahu
Just put *all* the gear in little shock/chem/etc.-proof pouches. Done, crazy GM tactic neutralized.
Simon Kerimov
QUOTE (Yerameyahu @ Aug 30 2010, 01:07 PM) *
Just put *all* the gear in little shock/chem/etc.-proof pouches. Done, crazy GM tactic neutralized.


I'm sorry, I found it spelled out explicitly in Arsenal. I didn't think it would be so irritating to people.
Mayhem_2006
QUOTE (Simon Kerimov @ Aug 30 2010, 11:01 PM) *
I'm sorry, I found it spelled out explicitly in Arsenal. I didn't think it would be so irritating to people.


Not irritating, just not relevant to your original post. Yes, a SnS might set off an electrical detonator, but nobody with *any* knowledge of explosives will be carrying around their plastique with the detonator already stuck in it.

So the chances of collateral damage from shocking a explosives-carrying 'runner are negligible. And the detonator going off on its own shouldn't cause significant injury unless the runner in question keeps them tucked into his hat-band...

Dumori
QUOTE (Mayhem_2006 @ Aug 30 2010, 11:28 PM) *
So the chances of collateral damage from shocking a explosives-carrying 'runner are negligible. And the detonator going off on its own shouldn't cause significant injury unless the runner in question keeps them tucked into his hat-band...

Or right over the heart in a big bunch.
Faradon
So how do people feel about lightning bolt and other such spells in relations to plastic explosives?
Tymeaus Jalynsfein
QUOTE (DWC @ Aug 30 2010, 11:07 AM) *
Or you require that one person carry the detonators and another carries the explosives. That's our usual approach and it hasn't failed spectacularly yet.


That also works out well... smokin.gif
Ed_209a
QUOTE (Jaid @ Aug 28 2010, 05:10 PM) *
...in point of fact, 15 milliamps will cause serious problems. as i recall, somewhere around 5 milliamps is all that is needed to seriously injure you,

I think you are talking about electrically knocking your heart out of rhythm. To clarify, this is caused by a few milliamps at the heart. As mentioned above, resistance varies greatly depending on the situation, so current that tickles one time, could kill you the next time, and current strong enough to cause surface burns might not kill you.
suoq
QUOTE (Ed_209a @ Aug 30 2010, 08:22 PM) *
I think you are talking about electrically knocking your heart out of rhythm. To clarify, this is caused by a few milliamps at the heart. As mentioned above, resistance varies greatly depending on the situation, so current that tickles one time, could kill you the next time, and current strong enough to cause surface burns might not kill you.

In an effort to throw actual data on the flames of vagueness.

http://www.oshatrain.org/courses/pages/715Am2.html

Note the term "Effects of Electrical Current on the Body", not "on the Heart".
50-150 milliamps (Note: no where near enough to do jack to the detonators, nevermind the explosive)
QUOTE
Extremely painful shock, respiratory arrest (breathing stops), severe muscle contractions. Flexor muscles may cause holding on; extensor muscles may cause intense pushing away. Death is possible.


50 milliamps does NOT tickle. The amount of amperage that does tickle (1 milliamps) isn't going to kill you. You can use a violet wand at the tickle level (and at a pain level) very safely as long as you follow simple safety procedures.

It's easy to cause surface burns with a current that isn't going to kill you. All you need is a violet wand and a piece of conducting material that comes to a point for the spark to come out of. It's very easy to do with great precision. And if a violet wand tickles you one time, it will keep tickling you. It isn't going to kill you.

Unless you're doing something incredibly stupid, like using it on someone with a pacemaker or using it anywhere near the eyeballs, it's a very safe device.
Sengir
QUOTE (X-Kalibur @ Aug 30 2010, 04:53 PM) *
Yeah, but stealing corp issued weapons seems like a bad idea on so many levels.

I'd rather bring a corp-issued weapon into a gunfight than a knife, and unfortunately those were the only options. wink.gif
Jaid
QUOTE (Ed_209a @ Aug 30 2010, 09:22 PM) *
I think you are talking about electrically knocking your heart out of rhythm. To clarify, this is caused by a few milliamps at the heart. As mentioned above, resistance varies greatly depending on the situation, so current that tickles one time, could kill you the next time, and current strong enough to cause surface burns might not kill you.

to some extent yes. 15 mA is the point at which you probably lose the ability to let go (it can vary a bit from person to person, but that's what my safety manual has listed). i had misremembered the point at which it was likely to cause death (though less current over an extended period of time can still cause death potentially, as the linked article notes: 100 mA for 3 seconds is as dangers as 900 mA for 0.03 seconds. one of those is very short, probably shorter than you or i can perceive, but both are quite possible within the context of someone working on a device rather than someone being shocked with a taser, and the former is what my training relates to. so no, 15 mA won't kill you instantly. but if you're getting 15 mA for a while, that's a different thing entirely).

my safety manual further lists 100-200 mA as being 'almost certain heart stoppage and death unless defibrillation equipment is available', only someone left the caps lock key on and bolded the entire sentence.
kzt
QUOTE (Yerameyahu @ Aug 28 2010, 12:15 AM) *
Plausibility depends very much on the explosives. Plastic, no. Maybe if they had black powder. biggrin.gif?

Umm, doesn't anyone read the rules? SR plastic explosives doesn't require detonators or anything like that. It just blows up when an electric current hits it.

"Plastic Explosives: Highly stable, moldable, and adhesive, plastic
explosives are ideal for certain jobs—like blowing a hole in a wall. They
are usually color-tinted to indicate the level of current needed to detonate
them, from the black of magnetic-field induction to the chalky
white of 440-volt industrial explosives."

I have no idea where they find the idiots who would write anything this insane.
sabs
have you read the fluff on move by wire systems.

Some of the Shadowrun writers do not research their ideas wink.gif
Yerameyahu
Indeed. Try to ignore it. Fluff is nothing. smile.gif
CanRay
QUOTE (sabs @ Aug 31 2010, 09:01 PM) *
Some of the Shadowrun writers do not research their ideas wink.gif

Re-search? What is this Re-search you speak of?
Tymeaus Jalynsfein
QUOTE (kzt @ Aug 31 2010, 07:54 PM) *
Umm, doesn't anyone read the rules? SR plastic explosives doesn't require detonators or anything like that. It just blows up when an electric current hits it.

"Plastic Explosives: Highly stable, moldable, and adhesive, plastic
explosives are ideal for certain jobs—like blowing a hole in a wall. They
are usually color-tinted to indicate the level of current needed to detonate
them, from the black of magnetic-field induction to the chalky
white of 440-volt industrial explosives."

I have no idea where they find the idiots who would write anything this insane.


Or you could just read that as the strength of the detonator required for actual detonation... makes it easier that way...
CanRay
How about this for a reason Stick and Shock is a bad idea: "It's a fraggin' BULLET!"

It's traveling at either just under or quite a bit over supersonic speed and has a bit of weight behind it. If you're not wearing armor of some sort, it's going to penetrate the fleshy bits quite nicely.

I'm not a doctor, but I t think fast traveling things in my fleshy bits is bad for my health, even before the electricity is added.
kzt
QUOTE (Tymeaus Jalynsfein @ Aug 31 2010, 08:23 PM) *
Or you could just read that as the strength of the detonator required for actual detonation... makes it easier that way...

That doesn't make any sense either. You don't need a giant 3-phase generator to set off a blasting cap. And everyone wants blasting caps that blow up when you drive under a high tension power line, right?
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