Hi there! I’m Leo, and today I’m excited to talk about a fascinating creature from my home country, Brazil—the electric eel. In Portuguese, we call it “Poraque,” which means “the one who puts you to sleep.” This name makes sense because electric eels can deliver a powerful shock of up to 860 volts! That’s about seven times stronger than the voltage from a typical power outlet in the United States. This shock is strong enough to paralyze or even kill other animals. But here’s the big question: why don’t electric eels shock themselves?
To understand this, we first need to know how electric eels create and use electricity. Believe it or not, all animals, including humans, can produce electricity. Every time a nerve or muscle cell in our bodies fires, it generates a tiny amount of electricity. These small jolts help with important tasks like keeping our hearts beating and allowing us to move.
Electric eels have taken this ability to the next level. They have special cells called “electrocytes” that are designed just to produce electricity. In fact, 80% of an eel’s body is made up of these electrocytes, which are stacked like the cells in a battery. This makes an eel similar to a giant battery pack, but instead of just 9 volts, it can generate several hundred volts!
When an eel releases its electric charge, the current travels through the water and any animals in it. This electric current can disrupt the normal electrical signals in an animal’s body, causing involuntary muscle contractions. This can paralyze the animal, making it easy for the eel to catch its prey or escape from predators.
So, how do electric eels avoid shocking themselves or other eels nearby? Well, they might feel a little shock, but not much. Think of the eel’s electric organs like a battery with two paths for the current to travel: through the water or through the eel itself. Because the eel’s body has much higher electrical resistance than water, most of the current flows into the water, not through the eel.
Additionally, electric eels have another trick to protect themselves. Most of their vital organs are located at the front of their bodies, away from the main path of the electric current. These organs are also surrounded by a thick layer of fat, which acts like insulation to protect them from the electricity.
Before we wrap up, I want to share a bit about my work. For the past 10 years, I’ve been translating MinuteEarth videos into Portuguese for MinutoDaTerra. It’s been an amazing journey, and we’ve just reached one million subscribers! If you’re interested in learning more about science or even picking up a new language, consider subscribing to MinutoDaTerra or our other language channels. You can also support us on Patreon to help us continue making science fun and accessible for everyone!
Using simple materials like batteries, wires, and light bulbs, build a model that demonstrates how electric eels generate electricity. This hands-on activity will help you understand the concept of electrocytes and how they function like a battery. Try to light up a bulb using your model to see the electric eel’s power in action!
In groups, act out the process of how electric eels use their shocks to catch prey or defend themselves. Assign roles such as the electric eel, prey, and water. This activity will help you visualize and remember how electric currents travel through water and affect other animals.
Conduct an experiment to measure electrical resistance in different materials. Use a multimeter to test how well various substances, like water and rubber, conduct electricity. This will help you understand why electric eels don’t shock themselves and how resistance plays a role in directing the current.
Imagine you are an electric eel and need to protect your vital organs from electricity. Design a suit using materials like foam or rubber to insulate yourself. Present your design to the class and explain how it mimics the eel’s natural insulation.
Create a short video or presentation explaining why electric eels don’t shock themselves. Use visuals, diagrams, and simple language to make the concept accessible to others. Share your project with classmates to practice science communication, just like Leo does with MinutoDaTerra!
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Hi, I’m Leo. I usually spend my time on the Brazilian version of MinuteEarth – MinutoDaTerra – but today I’m here to share my fascination with a particular animal from my homeland – the electric eel, or as we call it in Portuguese, “Poraque,” which means the one who puts you to sleep.
An electric eel can deliver a shock of as much as 860 volts, which is about seven times higher than the voltage of the average US power outlet. That’s enough to paralyze other animals or even kill them. Here in Brazil, we all know how dangerous these creatures are. But I could never figure out one thing – why doesn’t an electric eel’s shock hurt the eel itself?
To understand this electrifying question, you first have to learn how eels generate and use electric currents, and how these currents can affect an animal’s body.
Being able to produce electric shocks sounds impressive, but all animals are capable of producing electricity – even humans. Every time an animal’s nerve or muscle cell fires, it generates a small amount of electricity; these tiny jolts perform important functions, from regulating an animal’s heartbeat to enabling movement.
From these cells, which produce electricity for various functions, eels evolved cells called “electrocytes,” whose sole function is to generate electricity. Eighty percent of an eel’s body is made up of electrocytes, stacked like cells in a battery pack. An eel is actually quite similar to a battery pack – but instead of having 9 volts, it has several hundred!
Instead of passing through a wire, like the current generated by a battery, the current generated by an eel passes through the water it inhabits as well as the bodies of any animals present in that water. This brings us to how the current affects other animals. Various biological functions in an animal are regulated by its internal electrical circuitry. The current emitted by an eel disrupts those functions; for instance, it can trigger involuntary muscle contractions that may paralyze the animal, allowing the eel to either eat it or escape.
So how do eels avoid shocking themselves and other eels nearby? The answer is that they probably do experience some shock – but only a little. If you think of the eel’s electric organs as a battery, there are two paths for current to travel: through the water or through the eel. Current will travel along both paths, but since the body of the eel has much higher electrical resistance than the water, only a small amount of the current will pass through it; most will go into the surrounding water.
Additionally, the eel has another method for limiting damage to its internal electrical system. Most of an eel’s vital organs are located at the front of its body – outside the direct path of the current – and are surrounded by a thick layer of fat that provides extra insulation. So, for electric eels, avoiding self-shock seems to come down to creating a path of highest resistance.
Now, normally this is where we would run a sponsorship message, but today I want to talk about Leo, who is not only passionate about eels but also dedicated to science communication. For the last 10 years, he’s been translating MinuteEarth videos into Portuguese at MinutoDaTerra, and he’s also been connecting multilingual enthusiasts around the world to help translate our videos into even more languages. It’s not easy to translate complex science and humor, but Leo excels at it.
That’s why it’s so exciting to celebrate an amazing milestone with him – MinutoDaTerra just hit one million subscribers! To show Leo some appreciation – and perhaps learn a new language in the process – consider subscribing to MinutoDaTerra or one of our other foreign language channels. To support Leo and the rest of the team as we work to make engaging science explainers accessible to everyone, join our Patreon at Patreon.com/minuteearth or click below to send a one-time thank you!
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This version maintains the essence of the original transcript while ensuring it’s appropriate for all audiences.
Electric – Relating to or operated by electricity, which is a form of energy resulting from the existence of charged particles. – Electric signals help our brain communicate with different parts of our body.
Eel – A type of elongated fish that can generate electric charges, often found in freshwater and marine environments. – The electric eel can produce a strong electric shock to defend itself from predators.
Electricity – A form of energy resulting from the existence of charged particles, used to power devices and machines. – Scientists study how electricity flows through circuits to understand how to power our homes.
Shock – A sudden discharge of electricity through a part of the body or a material. – The electric eel can deliver a powerful shock to stun its prey.
Current – The flow of electric charge through a conductor, such as a wire or water. – The electric current generated by the eel helps it navigate and hunt in murky waters.
Electrocytes – Specialized cells in electric fish that generate electricity. – Electrocytes in the electric eel’s body create electric charges that it uses for defense and hunting.
Resistance – A measure of how much a material opposes the flow of electric current. – Materials with high resistance are used to control the flow of electricity in circuits.
Organs – Groups of tissues in living organisms that perform specific functions necessary for survival. – The electric organ in an eel is made up of thousands of electrocytes that produce electricity.
Muscle – Tissue in the body that has the ability to contract and produce movement or force. – The electric eel uses its muscle power to swim quickly through the water.
Predators – Animals that hunt and eat other animals for food. – Electric eels can use their electric shock to deter predators that try to attack them.
