In this case, everything is easy to explain: two metals are in contact in the water - the coating of the spoon and its base. And it is known that two metals in the presence of salt ions in water, which are certainly present in river and pond water, give an electric current. The potential is extremely insignificant, but it is quite comparable to that that arises around a live fish. This is what will attract the predator. And if you take into account that the spoon rotates or oscillates, then this further enhances the effect of the bait.
All animals in the process of vital activity and during neuromuscular activity generate low-frequency electric fields, which can be relatively strong, and the activity changes in accordance with changes in the field strength. But the sense organs capable of detecting small electric fields are known only in fish and are usually a modification of the lateral line.
The receptor discharges spontaneously with a frequency of about 100 impulses per second, the anode current at the entrance to the channel increases the frequency, and when its action ceases, a period of silence sets in. The cathode current reduces the frequency of the action potentials. In the cells of the phase receptor, a receptor potential of the oscillatory type arises. Nerve fibers have a short delay period (0.2 ms), so transmission may well be called electrical.
Electric fish are able to distinguish between the direction and polarity of the field, changes in its shape under the influence of conductors or non-conductors, such as wire mesh. There are many different things different types animals sensitive to weak electrostatic fields.
The mechanism by which animals detect weak electromagnetic fields has not yet been clarified. It can be assumed that one of the mechanisms for detecting a magnetic field is the induction of an electric field in cells sensitive to it. Electrical organs can perform two functions: stunning the victim and electrolocation.
Most weak electric fish live in muddy water or active at night. They send out continuous pulse trains and detect small changes in the electrical field of the environment; some of them change the frequency of the sent pulses for a more thorough sounding of the environment.
Highly electric fish emit powerful discharges that stun prey or predator. Some fish, in addition to the main organ emitting high-voltage pulses, have organs that continuously generate low-voltage signals.
In the "low-frequency" species, the electrical organs are derived from muscles, and the organs of the "high-frequency" species are transformed from nerves. In addition to electric fields, fish can use the magnetic field for orientation during migrations and for dowsing their prey. So, in a pike around the head, approximately in the area of the eyes, an alternating magnetic field with a frequency of 8-9 Hz is created. This is not only a privilege of fish. A magnetic field is created around the head of most vertebrates, and it is caused by the electrical action of the brain.
but predatory fish(in our case, a pike) use a pulsating magnetic field to detect their hunting objects. With its variable magnetic field, the pike induces an electric potential, which it can perceive with the help of electroreceptors. This toothy predator acts exactly according to Faraday's law. It crosses the body of the fish with magnetic lines, induces electric potentials in it between the tail and the head, and thus determines where the fish itself is and in which direction its tail and head are directed. And predators can also detect the head of the prey by a pulsating magnetic field, since they have magnetoreceptors.
A common lure does not have a bimetallic coating and does not attract fish with weak electric currents. Apparently soon it will be necessary to change the technology of making lures For example, magnets can be inserted into the spoon of a spoon to simulate the alternating magnetic field created around the head of a living fish, and thereby attract predators even in low light and in muddy water.
In addition to electric fields, fish can use a magnetic field for orientation during migrations and for dowsing their prey. So, in a pike around the head, approximately in the area of the eyes, an alternating magnetic field with a frequency of 8-9 Hz is created.
Yuri Simakov "Fishing with us" 4/2006
In living nature, there are many processes associated with electrical phenomena. Let's take a look at some of them.
Many flowers and leaves have the ability to close and open depending on the time and day. This is due to electrical signals representing the action potential. You can force the leaves to close with external electrical stimuli. In addition, damage currents develop in many plants. Slices of leaves and stems are always negatively charged with respect to normal tissue.
If you take a lemon or an apple and cut it, and then attach two electrodes to the peel, they will not reveal a potential difference. If one electrode is applied to the peel and the other to the inner part of the pulp, then a potential difference will appear, and the galvanometer will note the appearance of the current strength.
The change in the potential of some plant tissues at the time of their destruction was studied by the Indian scientist Bose. In particular, he connected the outer and inner parts of the pea with a galvanometer. He heated the pea to a temperature of up to 60C, while an electric potential of 0.5 V was recorded. The same scientist investigated the mimosa pad, which he irritated with short current impulses.
When irritated, an action potential arose. The mimosa reaction was not instantaneous, but with a delay of 0.1 s. In addition, another type of excitation propagated in the mimosa pathways, the so-called slow wave that appears in case of damage. This wave bypasses the petals, reaching the stem, causing an action potential to arise, which is transmitted along the stem and leads to the lowering of nearby leaves. Mimosa reacts by moving the leaf to irritation of the pad with a current of 0.5 μA. The sensitivity of the human tongue is 10 times lower.
No less interesting phenomena associated with electricity can be found in fish. The ancient Greeks were wary of meeting fish in the water, which made animals and people numb. This fish was an electric stingray and but the power is the name of a torpedo.
In life different fish the role of electricity is different. Some of them, with the help of special organs, create powerful electrical discharges in the water. For example, a freshwater eel creates tension of such force that it can repel an enemy attack or paralyze the victim. The electrical organs of a fish are made up of muscles that have lost the ability to contract. Muscle tissue serves as a conductor, and connective tissue serves as an insulator. Nerves go to the organ from spinal cord... In general, it is a small-lamellar structure of alternating elements. The eel has 6,000 to 10,000 contiguous elements forming a column, and about 70 columns in each organ located along the body.
In many fish (gymnarch, fish knife, gnatonemus), the head is charged positively, the tail is negatively, but in the electric catfish, on the contrary, the tail is positively, and the head is negative. Fish use their electrical properties for both attack and defense, as well as in order to find prey, navigate in troubled waters, and identify dangerous opponents.
There are also weak electric fish. They do not have any electrical organs. This is common fish: crucian carp, carp, gudgeon, etc. They sense the electric field and emit a weak electrical signal.
First, biologists discovered the strange behavior of a small freshwater fish - the American catfish. He felt the approach of a metal stick in the water at a distance of several millimeters. The English scientist Hans Lissman enclosed metal objects in a paraffin or glass shell, dipped them into water, but he failed to deceive the Nile catfish and the gymnarchus. The fish felt metal. Indeed, it turned out that fish have special organs that perceive weak electric field strength.
Testing the sensitivity of electroreceptors in fish, scientists conducted an experiment. We covered the aquarium with the fish with a dark cloth or paper and moved a small magnet alongside it through the air. The fish felt the magnetic field. Then the researchers just walked around the aquarium with their hands. And she reacted even to the weakest bioelectric field created by a human hand.
Fish, no worse, and sometimes even better than the most sensitive devices in the world, register an electric field and notice the slightest change in its intensity. The fish, as it turned out, are not only floating "galvanometers", but also floating "power generators". They emit an electric current into the water and create an electric field around themselves, much greater in strength than that arising around ordinary living cells.
With the help of electrical signals, fish can even "communicate" in a special way. Eels, for example, at the sight of food begin to generate current pulses of a certain frequency, thereby attracting their fellows. And if two fish are placed in one aquarium, the frequency of their electrical discharges immediately increases.
Pisces rivals determine the strength of their opponent by the strength of their signals. Other animals do not have such feelings. Why are only fish endowed with this property?
Fish live in water. Sea water is an excellent guide. Electric waves propagate in it, without damping, for thousands of kilometers. In addition, fish have physiological features of the structure of muscles, which over time have become “living generators”.
The ability of fish to store electrical energy makes them ideal batteries. If it was possible to understand in more detail the details of their work, there would be a revolution in technology, in terms of creating batteries. Electrolocation and underwater communication of fish allowed the development of a system for wireless communication between a fishing vessel and a trawl.
It would be appropriate to end with a statement that was written next to a conventional glass aquarium with an electric slope, presented at the exhibition of the Royal Society of England in 1960. Two electrodes were lowered into the aquarium, to which a voltmeter was connected. When the fish was at rest, the voltmeter showed 0 V, while the fish was moving - 400 V. The nature of this electrical phenomenon, observed long before the establishment of the English Royal Society, a person still cannot figure out. The mystery of electrical phenomena in living nature still excites the minds of scientists and requires its solution.
For a long time, it was believed that electrical phenomena play important role in the life of only those fish that have electric generating and electro-sensing organs. These, as mentioned, are highly electric and weakly electric fish, as well as those species that are devoid of special organs that produce electrical discharges, but at the same time have electrosensitivity organs - electroreceptors. These include sharks, rays, chimeras, all sturgeons, as well as catfish and a number of exotic fish such as lungfish, African polypters and, finally, the famous coelacanth. It is clear that from this entire list we are only interested in catfish.
All the rest of the fish, and these include all our traditional "fishing" species, do not have any special organs for the perception of electric fields, and when discussing the topic of electricity in textbooks on ichthyology, they are not mentioned at all. I, at least, did not find such references in any manual that I know, both domestic and foreign, including recent years editions.
Meanwhile, there are enough special experimental research, in which it is shown that many "non-electric" species, firstly, are capable of generating weak electric fields around themselves, and secondly, they have the ability to sense an electric field and estimate its parameters. Another thing is that it is still not clear how, with the help of what sense organs they do this.
Why these results did not make it to the pages of textbooks is another question, but we have the right to conclude that electricity is one of the factors influencing the behavior of not only strongly or weakly electric, but all fish in general, including those that we are catching. Therefore, this topic is directly related to fishing (even if you do not take into consideration the electric fishing rod).
Fields of fish - "non-electrics"
For the first time, a weak electric field in a non-electric fish was recorded in a sea lamprey by the Americans Klerkoper and Sibakin in 1956. The field was recorded by special equipment at a distance of several millimeters from the lamprey body. It rhythmically arose and disappeared synchronously with the respiratory movements.
In 1958, it was shown that an electric field, moreover, stronger than that of lamprey, can also generate around itself a river eel. Finally, since the 1960s, the ability of fish, previously thought to be non-electrical, to emit weak electrical discharges has been established in many marine and freshwater species.
Thus, today there is absolutely no doubt that all fish, without exception, generate electric fields around them. Moreover, in many species the parameters of these fields have been measured. Several examples of discharge values for non-electric fish are shown in the table at the bottom of the page (measurements were taken at a distance of about 10 cm from the fish).
The electrical activity of fish is accompanied by constant and pulsed electric fields. The constant field of fish has a characteristic pattern - the head is positively charged relative to the tail, and the potential difference between these areas varies in different species from 0.5 to 10 mV. The source of the field is located in the region of the head.
Pulse fields have a similar configuration, they are created by discharges with a frequency from fractions of a hertz to one and a half kilohertz.
Sensitivity of non-electric fish
The sensitivity to electric fields in different fish species without electroreceptors varies greatly. In some, it is relatively low (within tens of millivolts per centimeter), in others it is comparable to the sensitivity of fish with special organs of electric sense. For example, the American eel senses a field of only 6.7 μV / cm in fresh water. Pacific salmon in seawater can sense a field of 0.06 μV / cm. Roughly calculated, taking into account the greater resistance of fresh water, this means that in fresh waters salmon are capable of sensing approximately 6 µV / cm. Our ordinary catfish also has a very high electrosensitivity. The ability to perceive weak electric fields has also been established in species such as carp, crucian carp, pike, stickleback, and minnow.
According to most scientists, the lateral line organs play the role of electroreceptors in all these fish. But this issue cannot be considered finally resolved. It may well turn out that fish have some other mechanisms that allow them to feel electricity, and of which we do not even suspect yet.
Electric world
So, we come to the conclusion that all fish, although to varying degrees, are electrosensitive, and all fish, again to varying degrees, create electric fields around them. We, therefore, have every reason to believe that fish somehow use these electrical abilities of theirs in their Everyday life... How, and in what areas of their vital activity can they do this? First of all, we note that electrical sensitivity is used by fish (eel, herring, salmon) for orientation in the ocean. In addition, fish have a developed system of electrical communication - interaction with each other based on the exchange of electrical information. This is used during spawning, during aggressive interactions (for example, when protecting one's own territory), as well as to synchronize the movements of fish in a school.
But we are more interested in those aspects that are more directly related to fishing - the search for food, the distinction between edible and inedible items.
First of all, it should be borne in mind that electric fields are created around themselves not only by fish, but also by other animals, including the organisms that fish feed on. For example, a weak electric field arises in the abdomen of a swimming amphipod crustacean. For fish, such fields are a valuable source of information. Experiments with sharks are widely known, which easily find and try to dig out a miniature electric generator buried in the sand, imitating the biological currents of fish with its discharges.
But then - sharks. Are electric fields of interest freshwater fish? Very curious and instructive experiments in this regard were carried out back in 1917 with the American catfish Amyurs. The authors of these experiments were engaged in sticks made of different materials - glass, wood, metal - into the aquarium with amyuros. It turned out that the catfish felt the presence of a metal rod from a distance of several centimeters, and, for example, reacted to a glass rod only when touched. Thus, Amyurus felt the weak galvanic currents that occurred when the metal was placed in water.
Even more interesting, the reaction of the catfish to the metal depended on the intensity of the current. If the surface of contact with the water of the metal rod was 5-6 cm2, the catfish developed a defensive reaction - they swam away. If the surface of contact with water was less (0.9-2.8 cm2), then the fish developed a positive reaction - they swam up and "pecked" the place of contact of the metal with water.
When you read about such things, there is a great temptation to theorize about the surface area of a jig, bimetallic jigs and spinners, which are, in fact, small galvanic electric generators, and the like. But it is clear that theories of this kind will remain theories, and any recommendations made on their basis are worthless. The interaction of fish with bait is a very complex process, in which a variety of factors are involved, and electricity is most likely not the main one among them. Nevertheless, one should not forget about him. In any case, there are some possibilities for imagination and experimentation with lures. Why not, for example, assume that metal spinners, especially large ones, can carry with them an excessively strong field, which does not attract, but, on the contrary, frightens off fish? After all, it can be removed by covering the spoon with some transparent compound that does not conduct electricity.
And how can one fail to recall the remarkable fact that until the 60s of the last century, Finnish and Norwegian fishermen used wooden hooks made of juniper for sea flounder fishing. At the same time, they argued that the flounder is caught on a wooden hook better than on a metal one. Isn't it about electricity? And so on - there is a wide scope for thought.
But back to the fish. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, in addition to the perception of foreign electric fields, fish can receive information about the environment and by changing the parameters of their own field. After all, any object that falls into the field of fish, if it differs in electrical conductivity from the surrounding water, will inevitably change the configuration of this field. There are a number of studies showing that electrical discharges are sharply increased in actively feeding "peaceful" fish, as well as in predators (for example, a pike) at the moment of throwing to prey. Moreover, in nocturnal and crepuscular predators this is more pronounced than in daytime ones. Perhaps this means that at the time of the capture of food the fish "turn on" additional channels of information for a more thorough analysis of the situation? Are they "feeling" potential prey with the lines of force of their field? Sooner or later, scientists will give an answer to this question, but we don't have to wait for this - we can just keep this possibility in mind. That is, to understand that fish can know much more about the electrical properties of our bait than we assume, and, most importantly, than we ourselves know about it. For example, I am almost sure that predators perfectly "understand" when attacking a wobbler that this "fish" is made of some strange material - it changes the configuration of their field differently than a real fish. Does this influence the predator's “eat or not eat” decision? It is possible, especially if he is not too hungry.
A little bit of lyrics in conclusion
Drawing readers' attention to the electrical side of fish life, I would not at all want anyone to think of using the electrical sensitivity of fish to create on this basis some kind of "fail-safe" bait that the fish would take always and in any conditions. Attempts of this kind, not only in the "electric sphere", regularly appear on the horizon. Either electroblasting, or "tasty silicone", which the predator not only does not seek to spit out, but, on the contrary, hurries to swallow as soon as possible. Finally, clever bite activators that create an irresistible hunger in the fish, regardless of whether it is hungry or full.
And these are just a few examples. The pace of development of science and technology is such that it is quite possible to expect the appearance on the market of a truly "trouble-free" tackle that will catch always and everywhere and, most importantly, regardless of the skill and knowledge of the one who uses it. There is a purely ethical, and perhaps aesthetic, edge, beyond which fishing ceases to be fishing.
Therefore, for those who have an excessive inclination to this kind of development, I want to remind you of a simple, well-known fact. Such a "fail-safe" tackle has already been invented and is being used with might and main. This is an electric fishing rod.
Dominic Statham
Photo © depositphotos.com / Yourth2007
Electrophorus electricus) lives in the dark waters of swamps and rivers in the northern part South America... It is a mysterious predator with a sophisticated electro-location system and is able to move and hunt in low visibility conditions. Using "electroreceptors" to determine the distortion of the electric field caused by its own body, he is able to detect a potential victim, while he himself remains unnoticed. It immobilizes the victim with a powerful electric shock, strong enough to stun a large mammal such as a horse, or even kill a person. With its elongated, rounded body shape, the eel resembles the fish that we usually call moray eels (order Anguilliformes); however, it belongs to a different order of fish (Gymnotiformes).Fish capable of detecting electric fields are called electroreceptive, and those capable of generating a powerful electric field, such as an electric eel, are called electrogenic.
How does an electric eel generate such a high electrical voltage?
Electric fish are not the only ones capable of generating electricity. In fact, all living organisms do this to one degree or another. The muscles in our body, for example, are controlled by the brain using electrical signals. The electrons produced by bacteria can be used to generate electricity in fuel cells called electrocytes. (see table below). Although each cell carries a negligible charge, due to the fact that thousands of such cells are assembled in series, like batteries in a flashlight, voltages of up to 650 volts (V) can be generated. If you arrange these rows in parallel, you can get an electric current of 1 Ampere (A), which gives an electric shock of 650 watts (W; 1 W = 1 V × 1 A).
How does an eel manage not to shock itself with an electric shock?
Photo: CC-BY-SA Steven Walling via Wikipedia
Scientists don't know exactly how to answer this question, but some interesting observations may shed light on the problem. First, vital important organs eels (such as the brain and heart) are located near the head, away from the organs that generate electricity, and are surrounded by fatty tissue, which can act as insulation. Skin also has insulating properties, as it has been observed that acne with damaged skin is more susceptible to self-muffling by electrical shock.
Secondly, eels are capable of inflicting the most powerful electrical shocks at the time of mating, without harming the partner. However, hitting another eel with the same force outside of mating can kill it. This suggests that acne has some kind of defense system that can be turned on and off.
Could the electric eel have evolved?
It is very difficult to imagine how this could happen in the course of minor changes, as required by the process proposed by Darwin. In case the shockwave was important from the very beginning, then instead of stunning, it would warn the victim of danger. Moreover, in the course of evolution to develop the ability to stun a victim, an electric eel would have to simultaneously develop a self-defense system. Each time there was a mutation that increased the force of the electric shock, another mutation must have occurred that would improve the electrical insulation of the eel. It seems unlikely that one mutation would be enough. For example, in order to move organs closer to the head, it would take a whole series of mutations that would have to occur simultaneously.
Although few fish are capable of stunning their prey, there are many species that use low voltage electricity for navigation and communication. Electric eels belong to a group of South American fish known as "knife-tails" (family Mormyridae), which also use electrolocation and are believed to have developed this ability along with their South American counterparts. Moreover, evolutionists are forced to claim that the electrical organs in fish evolved independently eight times... Considering the complexity of their structure, it is striking that these systems could have evolved in the course of evolution at least once, not to mention eight.
Knife-scissors from South America and chimeras from Africa use their electrical organs for location and communication, and use a number of different types electroreceptors. In both groups there are species that produce electric fields of various complex waveforms. Two types of knives, Brachyhypopomus benetti and Brachyhypopomus walteri so similar to each other that they could be attributed to the same type, however, the first of them produces a constant voltage current, and the second - an alternating voltage current. Evolutionary history becomes even more remarkable when you dig even deeper. In order to ensure that their electrolocation devices do not interfere with each other and do not interfere, some species use a special system with which each of the fish changes the frequency of the electric discharge. It is noteworthy that this system works in almost the same way (the same computational algorithm is used) as that of a glass knife from South America ( Eigenmannia) and African fish aba aba ( Gymnarchus). Could such a jamming system have evolved independently in the course of evolution in two separate groups of fish living on different continents?
A masterpiece of God's creation
The power unit of the electric eel has eclipsed all human creations with its compactness, flexibility, mobility, environmental safety and the ability to self-heal. All parts of this apparatus ideal way integrated into the polished body, which gives the eel the ability to swim with great speed and agility. All the details of its structure - from tiny cells that generate electricity to the most complex computing complex that analyzes the distortions of electric fields produced by eels - indicate the design of the great Creator.
How does an electric eel generate electricity? (popular science article)
Electric fish generate electricity just like the nerves and muscles in our body do. Inside the electrocyte cells, there are special enzyme proteins called Na-K AT Phase pump out sodium ions through the cell membrane, and suck up potassium ions. (‘Na’ is the chemical symbol for sodium and ‘K’ is the chemical symbol for potassium. ”‘ ATP ’is adenosine triphosphate, an energy molecule used to operate the pump). An imbalance between potassium ions inside and outside the cell creates a chemical gradient that pushes potassium ions out of the cell again. Likewise, an imbalance between sodium ions creates a chemical gradient that pulls sodium ions back into the cell. Other proteins embedded in the membrane act as channels for potassium ions, pores that allow potassium ions to leave the cell. As potassium ions with a positive charge accumulate outside the cell, an electrical gradient builds up around the cell membrane, and the outside of the cell has a more positive charge than it inner part... Pumps Na-K ATPase (sodium potassium adenosine triphosphatase) are constructed in such a way that they select only one positively charged ion, otherwise negatively charged ions would also begin to flow, neutralizing the charge.
Most of the body of an electric eel is made up of electrical organs. Hunter's main organ and organ is responsible for generating and storing electrical charge. The Sachs organ generates a low voltage electric field that is used for electro-location.
The chemical gradient acts to push the potassium ions out and the electrical gradient pulls them back in. At the moment of balance, when chemical and electrical forces cancel each other out, there will be about 70 millivolts more positive charge outside the cell than inside. Thus, there is a negative charge of -70 millivolts inside the cell.
However, more proteins built into the cell membrane provide channels for sodium ions - these are the pores that allow sodium ions to enter the cell again. Normally, these pores are closed, but when the electrical organs are activated, the pores open, and sodium ions with a positive charge enter the cell again under the influence of the chemical potential gradient. In this case, balance is achieved when a positive charge of up to 60 millivolts is collected inside the cell. There is a total voltage change from -70 to +60 millivolts, and this is 130 mV or 0.13 V. This discharge occurs very quickly, in about one millisecond. And since about 5000 electrocytes are collected in a series of cells, thanks to the synchronous discharge of all cells, up to 650 volts can be generated (5000 × 0.13 V = 650).
Na-K ATPase (sodium-potassium adenazine triphosphatase) pump. During each cycle, two potassium ions (K +) enter the cell, and three sodium ions (Na +) leave the cell. This process is driven by the energy of the ATP molecules.
Glossary
An atom or molecule that carries an electrical charge due to an unequal number of electrons and protons. An ion will have a negative charge if it contains more electrons than protons, and a positive charge if it contains more protons than electrons. Potassium (K +) and sodium (Na +) ions are positively charged.
Gradient
A change in any value when moving from one point in space to another. For example, if you move away from a fire, the temperature drops. Thus, the fire generates a temperature gradient that decreases with distance.
Electric Gradient
The gradient of the change in the magnitude of the electric charge. For example, if there are more positively charged ions outside the cell than inside the cell, an electrical gradient will flow across the cell membrane. Due to the fact that the same charges are repelled from each other, the ions will move in such a way as to balance the charge inside and outside the cell. The movement of ions due to the electrical gradient occurs passively, under the influence of electrical potential energy, and not actively, under the influence of energy coming from an external source, for example, from an ATP molecule.
Chemical gradient
Chemical concentration gradient. For example, if there are more sodium ions outside the cell than inside the cell, then the sodium ion chemical gradient will pass through the cell membrane. Due to the random movement of ions and collisions between them, there is a tendency that sodium ions will move from higher concentrations to lower concentrations until a balance is established, that is, until there are the same amount of sodium ions on both sides of the membrane. This happens passively as a result of diffusion. The movements are driven by the kinetic energy of the ions, not energy derived from an external source such as an ATP molecule.
Electric fish... Even in ancient times, people noticed that some fish somehow get their food in a special way. And only very recently, by historical standards, it became clear how they do it. It turns out that there are fish that create an electrical discharge. This discharge paralyzes or kills other fish and even not at all small animals.
Such a fish swims, swims nowhere in a hurry. As soon as another fish is near it, an electric discharge is created. That's it, lunch is ready. You can swim up and swallow a paralyzed or killed electric shock fish.
How does it work for fish to create an electrical impulse? The fact is that in the body of such fish there are real batteries. Their number and size in fish are different, but the principle of operation is the same. It is on the same principle that modern rechargeable batteries are arranged.
Actually, modern batteries are created after the pattern and likeness of fish batteries. Two electrodes, electrolyte between them. This principle was once seen from the electric ray. Mother nature conceals many more interesting surprises!
There are more than three hundred species of electric fish in the world today. They have the most different sizes and weight. All of them are united by the ability to create an electrical discharge or even a whole series of discharges. But it is still believed that the most powerful electric fish are stingrays, catfish and eels.
Electric ramps have a flat head and body. The head is often disc-shaped. They have a small, finned tail. The electrical organs are located on the sides of the head. A couple more small electrical organs are located on the tail. Even those rays that are not electric have them.
Electric ramps can generate electrical impulses with voltages up to four hundred and fifty volts. With this impulse, they can not only immobilize, but also kill small fish... A person, if he gets into the zone of action of an impulse, will not seem a little either. But the person will most likely remain alive, although he will surely experience unpleasant moments in his life.
Electric catfish, just like slopes, create an electrical impulse. Its voltage can be in large catfish, as well as in stingrays, up to 450 volts. When catching such a catfish, you can also get a very noticeable electric shock. Electric catfish live in water bodies of Africa and reach sizes up to 1 meter. Their weight can be up to 23 kilograms.
But, the most dangerous fish lives in water bodies of South America. This is electric eels... They come in very large sizes. Adults reach a length of three meters and a weight of up to twenty kilograms. These electrical giants can create electrical impulses with voltages of up to one thousand two hundred volts.
With an impulse with such a voltage, they can kill rather large animals that are out of place nearby. The same outcome can be expected for a person. The power of the electric discharge reaches six kilowatts. It will not seem a little. This is how they are - living power plants.