Electric Eel

It’s positively shocking: An electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) can produce an electric charge of up to about 600 volts – five times the voltage of a wall socket, and strong enough to injure a human.

Located in the tail, the eel’s electric organs serve several uses. Low-intensity impulses help eels communicate and navigate, while high-intensity charges stun or kill prey, and provide a defense.

Did You Know?

An Electric Eel isn’t a true eel at all. It’s more closely related to the goldfish or carp.

Methods have been proposed to create artificial cells using nanotechnology that function in the same way that the electric eel’s cells do to generate electricity on a microscopic scale


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