BOAS_N_PYTHONS
02-22-05, 01:30 PM
Found this an interesting read, hope the batteries don' t fail cause the moment JAWS is that close you got no time flip out :D
Divers embrace anti-shark device
An Australian company has developed technology that intends to protect divers and surfers from being attacked by sharks while they are in the water.
Great white sharks are attracted to the warm ocean currents along Australia's southern coastline and are a constant concern for divers who work in the sea. The coastline supports colonies of fish and seals, and divers who hunt for scallops and abalone can spend up to 10 hours a day in the water. Increasing numbers of divers are using a protective electronic device, called Shark Shield, while they work.
When a shark comes in to attack, it automatically closes its eyes as a way of protecting them. With no sight, it detects movement with a tiny sensor in its nose, which picks up the electrical current of its prey. The Shark Shield takes advantage of this by emitting a much stronger pulse of electricity. The battery-operated device is switched on when the diver or surfer enters the water and the electrical current is generated continuously. The current causes intense discomfort to the shark and, as a result, they leave the area.
The inventors of the technology say it does not affect any other marine life and has no known harmful effects on the shark or the wearer. Paul Lunn, founder of SeaChange, the company that has developed the Shark Shield, said the device worked by attacking a shark's nervous system, and it worked on sharks with the strongest of charges. "It puts it (the shark) into a spasm, it cannot breathe, it cannot survive in this particular field. We call it hitting the wall. It comes in and hits this barrier and then it goes."
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/02/21/spark.shark/index.html
Tony
Divers embrace anti-shark device
An Australian company has developed technology that intends to protect divers and surfers from being attacked by sharks while they are in the water.
Great white sharks are attracted to the warm ocean currents along Australia's southern coastline and are a constant concern for divers who work in the sea. The coastline supports colonies of fish and seals, and divers who hunt for scallops and abalone can spend up to 10 hours a day in the water. Increasing numbers of divers are using a protective electronic device, called Shark Shield, while they work.
When a shark comes in to attack, it automatically closes its eyes as a way of protecting them. With no sight, it detects movement with a tiny sensor in its nose, which picks up the electrical current of its prey. The Shark Shield takes advantage of this by emitting a much stronger pulse of electricity. The battery-operated device is switched on when the diver or surfer enters the water and the electrical current is generated continuously. The current causes intense discomfort to the shark and, as a result, they leave the area.
The inventors of the technology say it does not affect any other marine life and has no known harmful effects on the shark or the wearer. Paul Lunn, founder of SeaChange, the company that has developed the Shark Shield, said the device worked by attacking a shark's nervous system, and it worked on sharks with the strongest of charges. "It puts it (the shark) into a spasm, it cannot breathe, it cannot survive in this particular field. We call it hitting the wall. It comes in and hits this barrier and then it goes."
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/02/21/spark.shark/index.html
Tony