Electricity and Water
the cells in the eel act as parallel plate capacitors. this is really neat because of the idea that they are lined up in a such a way as to store the bio electrical energy of the body and then release that energy when the fist causes sodium to be ejected from its pores. this gives  the capacitors the medium they need to discharge, capacitors discharge in strong bursts, they quickly release the potential difference of five hundred volts into the surrounding water. the eel itself is affected by this discharge but because the water pulls a lot of the charge from the eel and into the surrounding water and little critters, the eel survive the experience remarkably unhurt. enough so that this i a powerful defense mechanism that has been show in videos to stun alligators and crocodiles.
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