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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