Weird Science: Electric Eels
Electric eels are freshwater fish from Central and South America. They can produce powerful jolts of electrical energy. Electric discharges from eels are strong enough to stun or kill smaller fish and frogs in the water. The eels then swallow their motionless prey whole. Early travelers to the Amazon River basin wrote that in shallow pools, the eels' discharges could knock horses and humans over.
Within the body of an eel, which is 2.5 meters long, are a series of electroplates, or modified muscle tissues that generate low voltages. An eel has 5,000 to 6,000 connected electroplates. In lab experiments, the bursts of voltage from a fully grown eel have been measured to be about 600 volts.
The battery of a car provides 12 volts. How many times more voltage can a fully grown eel provide than can a car battery?
Within the body of an eel, which is 2.5 meters long, are a series of electroplates, or modified muscle tissues that generate low voltages. An eel has 5,000 to 6,000 connected electroplates. In lab experiments, the bursts of voltage from a fully grown eel have been measured to be about 600 volts.
The battery of a car provides 12 volts. How many times more voltage can a fully grown eel provide than can a car battery?