印度研製辣椒手榴彈 堪比催淚瓦斯

The Indian military has a new weapon against terrorism: the world's hottest chili.

After conducting tests, the military has decided to use the thumb-sized "bhut jolokia," or "ghost chili," to make tear gas-like hand grenades to immobilize suspects, defense officials said Tuesday.

The bhut jolokia was accepted by Guinness World Records in 2007 as the world's spiciest chili. It is grown and eaten in India's northeast for its taste, as a cure for stomach troubles and a way to fight the crippling summer heat.

It has more than 1,000,000 Scoville units, the scientific measurement of a chili's spiciness. Classic Tabasco sauce ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units, while jalapeno peppers measure anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000.

"The chili grenade has been found fit for use after trials in Indian defense laboratories, a fact confirmed by scientists at the Defense Research and Development Organization," Col. R. Kalia, a defense spokesman in the northeastern state of Assam, told reporters.

"This is definitely going to be an effective nontoxic weapon because its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hide-outs," R. B. Srivastava, the director of the Life Sciences Department at the New Delhi headquarters of the DRDO said.

Srivastava, who led a defense research laboratory in Assam, said trials are also on to produce bhut jolokia-based aerosol sprays to be used by women against attackers and for the police to control and disperse mobs.

現在印度軍方有了一種新型的對抗恐怖主義的武器：世界上最辣的辣椒。

印度防務官員於本週二稱，在經過多番測試後，印度軍方決定使用這種拇指大小的“鬼椒”來製造具有催淚瓦斯功效的手榴彈，以制服恐怖主義嫌疑分子。

2007年，鬼椒被《吉尼斯世界紀錄》認定爲世界最辣的辣椒。這種辣椒生長在印度東北部地區，該地區的人們食用它來治療胃病和抵禦酷暑。

根據斯科維爾辣度科學檢測法，鬼椒的辣度高達100多萬個斯科維爾單位；而經典的塔巴斯科辣椒醬的辣度也僅有2500至5000個單位，墨西哥胡椒的辣度則在2500至8000個單位之間。

印度東北部阿薩姆邦的軍方發言人R•卡利亞上校告訴記者說：“印度防務實驗室在進行數次實驗後認定，辣椒手榴彈適合作爲武器來使用。印度國防研究與發展組織的研究人員也對此表示認同。”

印度國防研究與發展組織新德里總部生命科學部負責人R•B•斯里瓦斯塔瓦說：“這肯定將是一種有效的無毒性武器，因爲它的刺激氣味會讓恐怖分子透不過氣來，從而迫使他們現身。”

阿薩姆邦國防研究實驗室負責人斯里瓦斯塔瓦表示，目前該實驗室還在進行生產“鬼椒噴霧器”的實驗，這種噴霧器可供女性防身，或幫助警察控制和驅逐暴徒。

Vocabulary:

hand grenade：a grenade or explosive shell that is thrown by hand and exploded either by impact or by means of a fuze（手榴彈）

crippling：極有害的，嚴重損害身體的

pungent：affecting the organs of taste or smell with a sharp acrid sensation（辛辣的，刺激性的）

bhut：(in Indian mythology) a spirit or demon（印度的魔鬼，妖怪）