Can electric eels shock people to death?

Electric eel is an eel-shaped South American fish of the family Eelidae, which can produce an electric current that can knock people out. It is the freshwater fish with the strongest discharge ability, and the output voltage can reach 300 million 800 volts. Therefore, electric eel is called "high voltage line" in the water. Although it is called electric eel, it is not a real eel, but it is closely related to catlike species. Let's take a look at the electric eel that can shock people to death.

Can electric eels shock people to death?

An electric eel can shock a person to death. The average voltage of electric eel discharge is more than 350V, but there is also a record of 650V discharge. The maximum voltage of American electric eel is more than 800V, which is strong enough to kill a cow. The current generated during discharge is very weak, generally less than 1 ampere. Sometimes the observed voltage is 500V and the current is 2 amperes, that is, a short-term discharge with a power of 1000 watts, although it emits direct current. But the discharge frequency can reach 300 pulses per second.

Why does the electric eel discharge

Some cells in the electric eel are like small laminated batteries that, when stimulated by neural signals, abruptly cause ions to flow through its cell membrane. Electric eels have such cells from beginning to end, just like many stacked batteries. When current is generated, all these batteries (each with a voltage of about 0.15 volts) are connected in series, creating a high voltage between the head and tail of the eel. Many of these battery packs are connected in parallel again, so that enough current can be generated outside the body. These currents are enough to stun or kill its prey or predators.

Will the electric eel shock itself?

The electric eel's discharge organs are on both sides of the body, and most of its body or important organs are surrounded by highly insulated structures that act like a large battery in the water. The current passes through the path with the least resistance, so when discharging in the water, the current is transmitted through water (the resistance is lower than the body of the electric eel), and the electric eel does not electricity itself. But if the electric eel is caught in the air, because the resistance of the air is greater than that of its body, it will be electrocuted to itself. In addition, if the electric eel is injured and the insulators on both sides are damaged at the same time, the discharge will be short-circuited like two exposed wires.

Video of electric eel electrocuting crocodile

The electric eel will discharge, and most people will not provoke it when they encounter it, but if they are seen by a crocodile, a large electric eel about 1 meter long is bitten by a crocodile by the river. As a result, the electric eel struggles to discharge, plus conducts electricity in the water, and the crocodile is electrocuted to the "golden sparkle". Finally, the electric eel is directly turned white belly hanging point, the electric eel is also killed.

At the beginning of the video, a large electric eel about 1 meter long was seen struggling by the river, with a crocodile eyeing covetously. The photographer was a black man, standing on one side of the dirt river bank for about 26 seconds. The crocodile finally could not stand the temptation to bite down and bring death to himself.

After the normal crocodile bites its prey, it will drag into the water, shake its head or turn over and tear the meat. In the film, after the crocodile bites the electric eel, it not only does not have any movement, but also hangs its whole mouth on the soil on the shore, and its body continues to tremble. It is obviously electrocuted. After lasting for more than 20 seconds under hundreds of volts, the crocodile obviously could not support it and began to turn over and reveal its belly. The front and back feet were stiff and motionless, suspected to be dead.