印度研制辣椒手榴弹 堪比催泪瓦斯

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.

现在印度军方有了一种新型的对抗恐怖主义的武器：世界上最辣的辣椒。

印度防务官员于本周二称，在经过多番测试后，印度军方决定使用这种拇指大小的“鬼椒”来制造具有催泪瓦斯功效的手榴弹，以制服恐怖主义嫌疑分子。

2007年，鬼椒被《吉尼斯世界纪录》认定为世界最辣的辣椒。这种辣椒生长在印度东北部地区，该地区的人们食用它来治疗胃病和抵御酷暑。

根据斯科维尔辣度科学检测法，鬼椒的辣度高达100多万个斯科维尔单位；而经典的塔巴斯科辣椒酱的辣度也仅有2500至5000个单位，墨西哥胡椒的辣度则在2500至8000个单位之间。

印度东北部阿萨姆邦的军方发言人R•卡利亚上校告诉记者说：“印度防务实验室在进行数次实验后认定，辣椒手榴弹适合作为武器来使用。印度国防研究与发展组织的研究人员也对此表示认同。”

印度国防研究与发展组织新德里总部生命科学部负责人R•B•斯里瓦斯塔瓦说：“这肯定将是一种有效的无毒性武器，因为它的刺激气味会让恐怖分子透不过气来，从而迫使他们现身。”

阿萨姆邦国防研究实验室负责人斯里瓦斯塔瓦表示，目前该实验室还在进行生产“鬼椒喷雾器”的实验，这种喷雾器可供女性防身，或帮助警察控制和驱逐暴徒。

Vocabulary:

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

crippling：极有害的，严重损害身体的

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）