How Do Eels Generate Electricity?

Eels Electricity

Hey there, curious minds! Have you ever marveled at the electric eel’s ability to light up the water (and its surroundings) with a jolt of electricity? It’s almost like having a superhero living under the sea! Electric eels have fascinated scientists and the public for hundreds of years. Even Charles Darwin was puzzled by them. What is the shocking secret behind an electric eel’s weapon? An eel uses an electric shock of 650 volts to kill its prey.

Believe it or not, all living animals produce an electric charge during everyday muscular movement, but it’s very little. A nerve impulse is an electrical signal running through the length of a nerve, reaching speeds of over 200 miles per hour. Muscles should contract and try by sending an electrical pulse through the nerves via contraption.

In today’s post, we’re diving deep into the electrifying world of eels to uncover the secrets behind their shocking powers. Whether you’re a science enthusiast or just love learning fascinating facts about the animal kingdom, you’re in for a treat. So, buckle up and get ready to explore how eels generate electricity, a natural phenomenon that has intrigued scientists and nature lovers alike for ages.

How do eels generate electricity?

Electric eels are some of the most shocking organisms on this planet. They can harness the power of electricity to hunt. But electric eels aren’t eels at all. They’re a type of knife fish found in the Amazon River Basin in South America. Certain species of electric eels (genus Electrophorus) have the remarkable ability to generate electricity. Here’s an overview of how electric eels produce electric shocks:

Specialized Cells: Electric eels possess specialized cells called electrocytes that comprise most of their elongated body. These electrocytes are modified muscle cells that are stacked together in a series.

Electric Organ: The electrocytes are organized into an electric organ in the eel’s tail region. The electric organ can make up a significant portion of the eel’s body, accounting for about 80% of its total length in some cases.

Sodium and Potassium Ions: The electrocytes have a unique ion distribution across their membranes. The cells actively pump sodium ions out of the cell, concentrating potassium ions inside. This creates a difference in electrical potential, or voltage, across the electrocyte membrane.

Action Potentials: When the electric eel wants to generate an electric shock, it sends a signal from its brain to the electric organ. This signal triggers the simultaneous discharge of a large number of electrocytes.

Synchronized Discharge: When the signal is received, the electrocytes release their stored electrical potential simultaneously. The sudden change in voltage across the electrocyte membranes generates an action potential, a rapid electrical impulse.

Electric Shock: The action potentials generated by the electrocytes combine to produce a strong electric shock. This shock can reach several hundred volts in voltage and is typically used for hunting, self-defense, or communication with other electric eels.

Targeting Prey: Electric eels can use electric shocks to locate and immobilize prey. They generate weak electrical fields around their bodies and detect changes in the electric field caused by nearby objects. By sending out weak electric pulses and detecting the disturbances in the resulting field, they can locate prey even in dark or muddy waters.

Electric Eels are one of nature’s best. They can make electricity up to 500-600 volts, way more than the average Socket. At more than 2 meters, they are taller than most humans. Despite their name, they are not eels, but they fall in a fish called knifefish. There is a fascinating way eels generate electricity strong enough to knock down a horse.

Electric fishes are primarily found in freshwater rivers of Africa and South America, including the Amazon rainforest. They are divided into two categories:

  • Strong electric fish.
  • Weak electric fish.

Strong electric eels can produce very high voltages, whereas weak electric fish currents are too weak to stun their prey, so they use them for navigation or communication. Eels have three main organs to help them. The electric and hunter organs are used for high-voltage electricity to stun the prey. They have thousands of electrocytes in the electric organ stacked together.

Water and electricity make the perfect match. Water is such a good conductor. Each time a fish contracts a muscle. Also, it sends extremely weak electrical signal pulses through the water. So it’s unsurprising that predatory creatures like the hammerhead shark can detect these electrical signals like a sixth sense. It allows them to find prey hidden beneath the sand, even out of sight. Many fish have taken this to the next level and can produce super-strength electrical charges.

Electric eels have a series of electricity-generating cells that pulse and create an electric field around them. If anything comes into this field, it bounces back a signal to the eel. That allows it to build up a map of its surroundings—so it can see even in muddy water! Amazingly, when electric fish come together, they change the individual frequency, so they don’t journal each other’s output.

Electricity generation system

The electric eel can generate its own massive electrical pulse dystonic spray. Each electricity-producing cell generates 130 millivolts. So the fish stack them up in series. It’s like pinching a group of batteries on ends inside a torch to increase the voltage.

Typically, an eel can have as many as 6,000 electrocytes. With as many as 6000 cells in series, the fish can generate 650 volts delivered at approximately one-half. That’s about the same as a domestic microwave. These stacks of cells are negatively charged inside, and their outsides are positively charged.

Each cell has a potential of .08 volts. Not a lot, and considering the charges alternate, there are no current flows. But as soon as the eel is triggered by spotting a potential prey, these cells open up, and an influx of sodium ions changes the polarity. The stacks have positive and negative ends, which create an electric current.

Chemical reaction: When an atom loses or gains electrons, it gathers either a positive or negative charge. An electron has a negative charge, so losing it will result in an overall positive charge for the atom. That’s the main power eels use. In the electrocytes, sodium and potassium ions are positively charged and constantly pumped out of the cell. So, there is a positive charge outside and a negative charge inside.

NaCl(s) → Na+ (aq) + Cl−(aq)

But, the charge is reversed when the eel uses its ability or ‘fires’ using the neurotransmitter acetylcholine and pacemaker neurons. It doesn’t pump all the charges outside and allows ions to flow back in. So, one side has a positive charge inside, while the other has a negative one. Thousands of such cells stacked up together have this same pattern.

As electricity moves from positive to negative terminals, the eel produces massive shocks, acting as a battery. This is known as an Electric Organ Discharge(EOD). There are two types of EOD: pulse-type and wave-type. Pulse-type fish send electric fields at irregular intervals, whereas weakly electric fish send continuous wave-like electricity.

Why do electric Eels generate electricity?

Their shocks have a stealth mode and a low-voltage version that helps them hunt. These electric shocks act an awful lot, as sonar bats use. They can send them out as feelers, sensing if any fish lurk nearby. But even their big shocks have a dual function. One study published in Nature Communications found it’s for hunting, too.

The study’s lead author told National Geographic, “The eel can use its electric attack simultaneously as a weapon and sensory system. It’s a science-fiction-like ability.” Once they hone in on prey, they have a “remote control” mode.

They send out two closely spaced high-voltage discharges called doublets, making the prey’s body contract involuntarily. This movement sends ripples through the water, letting the eel know it’s a live thing and possibly prey. It can even make the fish “freeze.” It shocks their neurological system, so the fish can’t move.

While ideal for catching smaller prey, sometimes the shock isn’t enough to catch larger fish. So, an eel has to amp up its power. A recent study published in Current Biology found that eels boost their electric zap by curling into a circle. It brings the positively charged end of their body, head, and negatively charged tail area. The fish can double their shock by bringing the two points closer together. While their shock isn’t enough to kill someone, it’s still pretty painful. Those who’ve experienced it say it’s like running into an electric fence.

Why doesn’t Eel itself get electrocuted?

There are various understandings of this question. They may have particular proteins to protect them or twirl their bodies in a shape that prevents electricity from reaching their hearts. But the truth is, we still haven’t figured that out completely. Eels send out high-voltage pulses and twitch the prey’s muscles involuntarily.

The electric organ is at the base of its tail, far away from the heart, brain, and other vital organs situated much nearer the head than in other fish. Water is more conductive than body tissue, so the charge travels away from the fish. It’s also thought that many vital organs are covered in a layer of fat, insulating them against dangerous electric charges. It is because the supercharged electric blast is delivered to a tiny stone prey. The current probably doesn’t last long enough to shock a giant 2-meter electric eel.

One scientist, Kenneth Catania, researched electric eels hunting their prey and found some fantastic results. In one of his experiments, he infected the fish with curare, a poison that blocks the junctions connecting nerves and muscles. When he brought the eel near it, he found no change had happened to the fish. It didn’t die, nor were its muscles paralyzed. That means the eel directly attacks the nervous system instead of the muscles.

This was a fantastic outcome. It does not attack the muscles but directly blocks the nervous system connecting the muscles. Electrolocation is also a fascinating aspect of strong and weakly electric fish. The elephant nose uses electric organ discharges to locate objects.

First, it sends out these signals using its electric organ. If an object is in contact or there is a slight change in the field, the fish uses sensors called electroreceptors buried in the skin to detect the object. This process is called ‘active electrolocation’ because the source of electricity is the fish’s electric organ.

Some fishes cannot generate electricity but can sense it. These animals use ‘passive electrolocation.’ For example, sharks can sense their prey by sensing the electric fields!


We hope this journey into the depths of the electric eel’s abilities has sparked your curiosity and illuminated your understanding of these fascinating creatures. The natural world is brimming with wonders waiting to be discovered.

Keep your sense of wonder alive, and who knows what electrifying discoveries you’ll make next? Thanks for joining us on this electrifying adventure, and until next time, stay curious and keep exploring the marvels of the natural world!

More Articles:

How Do Fish Make Electricity?

How Do Sharks Use Electricity?

How Do Neurotransmitters Work In Body?

Why Is The Sea Water Taste Salty?

References:

David; Crampton, William G. R.; “Unexpected species diversity in electric eels with a description of the strongest living bioelectricity generator.” Nature Communications.
Oliveira, Marcos S. B.; Mendes‐Júnior, Raimundo N. G.; “Diet composition of the electric eel Electrophorus voltai (Pisces: Gymnotidae) in the Brazilian Amazon region.” Journal of Fish Biology.

Julia Rose

My name is Julia Rose. I'm a registered clinical therapist, researcher, and coach. I'm the author of this blog. There are also two authors: Dr. Monica Ciagne, a registered psychologist and motivational coach, and Douglas Jones, a university lecturer & science researcher.I would love to hear your opinion, question, suggestions, please let me know. We will try to help you.

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