Bucha effect
 |
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Flicker vertigo. (Discuss) Proposed since April 2009. |
 |
This article needs attention from an expert on the subject. See the talk page for details. WikiProject Medicine or the Medicine Portal may be able to help recruit an expert. (February 2009) |
The Bucha effect is a disorientation-, vertigo-, and nausea-inducing effect of a strobe light flashing at 1 Hz to 20 Hz, approximately the frequency of human brainwaves.[1][2] The effects are similar to seizures caused by epilepsy (in particular photosensitive epilepsy), but are not restricted to people with histories of epilepsy.
The effect is named after a Dr. Bucha who identified the phenomenon in the 1950s when called upon to investigate a series of similar and unexplained helicopter crashes. Those pilots who had survived reported sudden onset of dizziness and confusion, causing them to lose control of their aircraft. Dr. Bucha found that helicopter rotor blades, when turning at certain speeds, could cause flashes of sunlight at frequencies coinciding with the electrical frequencies of the central nervous system (brainwaves), inducing symptoms similar to epileptic seizures, including disorientation, nausea, etc.[3]
The Bucha effect has been considered as a principle for various forms of non-lethal weapon.[4] A related crowd-control device was invented by Charles Bovill, which "employed a combination of ultra-sonic waves and strobe lights to induce acute discomfort, sickness, disorientation and sometimes epilepsy."[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Bunker, Robert J. (July 1997), Nonlethal Weapons: Terms and References, p. 17, ISBN 9781428991934, http://books.google.com/?id=aoZYYz1ZieYC&pg=PA17&dq=%22Bucha+effect%22
- ^ Lyell (September 1997), Non-lethal Weapons: Draft General Report, p. 3, http://natopa.ibicenter.net/archivedpub/comrep/1997/ap238ste.pdf
- ^ Ronson, Jon (2005), The men who stare at goats, p. 147, ISBN 9780743241922, http://books.google.com/?id=2htuO07UAUoC&pg=PA147&dq=Bucha+effect
- ^ Bertomen, Lindsey (May 2007), "You Strobe, I Strobe, We All Strobe Together", Law Enforcement Technology, http://www.officer.com/print/Law-Enforcement-Technology/You-Strobe--%C2%ADI-Strobe--We-All-Strobe-Together/1$36370
- ^ Charles Bovill Obituary, The Daily Telegraph, November 2001, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1329575/Charles-Bovill.html
[edit] External links
- "LED-based incapacitating apparatus and method", filed in 2005 — a patent for a device based on this phenomenon.
- "New Robo-Weapon: Paralyzing Floodlight", Wired Danger Room blog, February 20, 2007 — a description of a weapon based on a similar phenomenon.
