The picana or picana electrica is a device used to give an electric shock during electrical torture. Description and use The picana is a wand or prod that delivers a high voltage but low current electric shock to a torture victim. It has a bronze tip and an insulated handle, and is connected by wire to a control box with a rheostat to raise or reduce the voltage. Power is supplied by a car battery or by a transformer connected to a mains wall socket. The victim is undressed and then tied to a chair or table or hung upside down by the ankles. Often water is thrown over the victim to reduce the electrical resistance of the skin and to increase the effect of the shocks. Two people operate the picana. One adjusts the rheostat control to increase or decrease the voltage. The other holds the picana and applies its tip to sensitive places on the victim's naked body, such as the head, mouth, armpits, genitals, breasts and nipples. The distinguishing feature of the picana is that the shocks are high voltage, but with limited energy per electric pulse. The high voltage means the shocks are ample but the low current means they are less likely to kill the victim, enabling longer torture sessions and many more shocks to be given than with higher current torture devices. According to an academic expert on torture, Darius Rejali of Reed College, early models of the picana used over 50 years ago delivered between 12,000 and 16,000 volts at a current of a thousandth of an amp. By comparison the Taser and other modern electric stun devices used by police forces deliver many times that voltage (which can deliver open-air voltages of 50,000 volts, although the voltage delivered to the victim is lower due to the resistance of air and clothing, averaging only 1,200 volts). As part of the usefulness of the picana arises from its high voltage, it is possible that more recent models use modern electronics for even higher voltage. Precise details of the design are unclear. It is designed and manufactured specifically as a human torture device, the sale and use of which is illegal in most countries of the world. As it has no legitimate alternative use, the manufacturers and users of the picana do not publicise details of the devices. The picana has a number of advantages