In the cult classic Dune, there’s this fictional device called the “Pain Box”. If you touch it, you’ll feel like your hand is burning, but in reality, no tissue is being damaged. In the real world this is called the Thermal Grill Illusion, which was discovered back in 1896. Much to our chagrin, [Adam Davis] has just finished building a working prototype.
Sound familiar? We covered a similar project a few months ago — but unfortunately it didn’t work very well. Luckily, and boy do we love it when this happens, [Adam] saw the post, and got inspired to try it himself. He had actually designed a system years back but never got around to building it. Upon seeing the post — and the difficulties in making it work — he just had to figure it out.
So how does it work? The Thermal Grill Illusion uses alternating warm and cool bars which stimulate the temperature receptors in your skin — and confuse them. Neither the warm or cool bars are extreme enough in temperature to do any harm, but your confused little temperature receptors make it feel like you’re either burning or freezing your skin off!
To do this, [Adam] is using thermoelectric coolers (TEC’s) which use the Peltier effect to cause a temperature differential between two sides of the device. Some temperature PID controllers make sure everything stays in the safe temperature range — TEC’s can get super hot, or cold! The resulting system works well, and really shows off the effect nicely; just take a look at the following demonstration.
Does he really need three temperature controllers to do this?
hes probibly needs to monitor the center sink to get a proper differential measurement. im not sure if this is neccisary for a production device, but is useful for science.
If you listen just before he turns it off, it sounds like the third one is to measure the heatsink and turn on a fan when it gets too hot.
If you listen just before he turns the system off, it sounds like the third one is to measure the heatsink and turn on a fan if it gets too hot.
If you listen just before he turns the system off, it sounds like the third one is to measure the heatsink and turn on a fan if it gets too hot.
do a human sized table, you know, for extracting information.
Good idea. Saves water.
And because it’s all psychological, it would be better tolerated by those human rights nuts.
That is a pretty sick thought even to consider subjecting someone’s testicles to this device.
Who said testicles?
Dibs on the government contract!
Aw crap, I was gonna call dibs but you beat me to it!. Maybe I can be a sub-contractor?
Muad-dibs on supplying the Fremen.
Um…
I think the ethical basis of human rights derives from pain, not damage.
Is your ethics based on damage?
Yep. No blood no foul.
psychological effects of torture are still relevant. you are pretty much condemning them to a life of ptsd after that.
Pretty sure that was written inside <sarcasm> tags.
Do troll bites hurt? Would a troll bite violate human rights?
Waterboarding is psychological as well … cheaper too.
A couple of gallons of water and a few towls in each police car and your next traffic stop can get a whole lot more interesting.
human right’s nuts or possible humans’ right nuts
“do a human sized table, you know, for extracting information”
Would a banana-sized (or hollow, short length of pipe-sized) device be as effective?
you can get those already.
I’ve seen hot ones, and cold ones, but I’ve not seen a single one that does both temperatures at the same time. Mostly because of the pain threshold needed. But now that the idea is out there, be sure that one will be made (maybe I’ll make it, getting it certified would get a corner on a very small part of a large market).
Then again, I haven’t been shopping in those districts of the internet lately. My favorite shop shut down and I haven’t needed anything new recently. If you, Lord Nothing, know of a place that has those, let us know; I need new stuff.
any bsdm warehouse will do, there is this thing called google, it will help you find one.
Or a sausage sized/stick style device, I’m sure. Gotta have equality these days. :)
Great, we can call it the St. Lawrence Grill. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_of_Rome#Martyrdom
Full sized, but in a “george foreman” style… get full coverage!
Fingernails grow back and don’t run up your electric bill. :)
Sounds like somebody just isn’t trying hard enough ;}
Yeah- If you damage the nail matrix they won’t grow back.
Generally considered to take a bit of acid.
I only know because I had a nail removed that grew back all strange, got removed again and scrubbed with phenol to keep it gone. Hospital grade phenol isn’t the weak 5.5 pH stuff.
Phenol is only a weak acid, you’re probably thinking of the molarity of the substance rather than the pH.
Is that what gom jabbar means? Pain box?
I guess I could look on some kind of wiki but then I’d lose the rest of today.
It’s been a long time since I read Dune, but if I remember correctly, the gom jabbar was the “poisonous needle” Harkonnen died of when Muad’dib’s sister stuck him with it.
No. The Gom Jabbar was the little needle attached to a finger thimble that was filled with a deadly poison. It was designed to inject that poison directly into the jugular vein, delivering the poison to the brain in a heartbeat. It was held at the throat of those who were being tested by a Bene Gesserit to see if they were Human.
The pain box in Dune lore was called a pain box and worked through “nerve induction”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIDtN8CDQmk
Would be held to the carotid artery, not the jugular vein. Slice just one jugular and (contrary to soooo much medically incorrect TV and movies) the victim will have at least a couple of minutes. Cut a carotid artery (the right or left common which come directly off the aorta, or higher up the neck where they split into the interior and exterior) and pressure to the brain drops instantly, with consciousness quickly lost. The scenery would also get a good spray coat of blood. *looks at a diagram* The left common carotid would probably be “best” because it connects directly to the aorta. The right common has a short bit called the brachiocephalic artery between the aorta and where the right subclavian artery branches off. The left subclavian connects directly to the aorta. Odd bit of asymmetry there.
i always thought the gom jabbar was the name of the bene geeserit test to see if someone is human and not an animal. but looking back at the book it seems like its also the name of the poison needle used in said test, but can apply to either.
After reading this article I felt a little scooped. That was a project from my bucket list.
So in 5 minutes, I made this: Dune Pain Box – A Hacker’s Replica
Sweet. I use those same TEC’s. They are dirt cheap out of China.
“I must not troll. Trolls are the mind-killer. Trolls are the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my trolls. I will permit them to pass over me and through me. And when they have gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the troll has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
+several billion
lol was looking for the litany of fear this is much better, I’ll have to recite this next time I go to youtube
i dont think i want any trolls to pass over my or through me. though it wouldnt hurt if they did, there peens are all e and no meat.
What about a heated/cooled vortex cannon.
I actually saw Adam demonstrating this at the A2 Mini-maker faire a few weeks ago, Touching it is a really freaky experience.
A simple way to experience this effect is to tightly pinch a peltier between your thumb and forefinger. Shortly after turning it on you’ll reflexively drop it unless you actively try to hang on. I figured the effect was psychological, but I didn’t know it’s name until now.
There’s also a torture device from the 1980s movie Solarbabies that tricks the “user” into thinking they’re covered with spiders or scorpions, or that their skin is all diseased or burning off.
Now, try modulating (levels, or “polarity”) the temperature difference and see what it does to the effect. At 42Hz alternation, maybe your inner universe will explode.
Exploratorium has had this for years https://www.exploratorium.edu/xref/exhibits/hot_and_cold_coils.html