Image of Electric Eel Anatomy
The first detail shows stacks of electrocytes forming electric organs. The second detail shows an individual cell with ion channels.These pump through the cell membrane as a nerve cell’s terminal buttons release neurotransmitters to trigger electrical activity. The final detail shows coiled protein chains of an ion channel.
The Year 1880, Alessandro Volta And Electric Fishes
When Alessandro Volta built his galvanic pile in 1880, he may have thought he was inventing electricity. However, he was only creating a new source, because the energy had always been there. Almost all fish can sense electricity, although only electric eels and other electric fish can generate it. But that’s not the only overlap between Alessandro Volta and electric fishes we have to share here.
Alessandro Volta would have believed he was doing something quite unique in 1880, as he assembled his pile battery. His device was a stack of alternating metal disks, with moisture between them.
Each pair produced a trickle of energy. However, when he joined the bottom disc in the pile to the one at the top, Alessandro Volta produced the volts that still carry his name.
Meanwhile, on the far side of the planet, Alexander von Humboldt was exploring the Amazon when he chanced upon local fisherman. Those brave men were herding some wild horses into the water when chaos broke out.
Electric Eels Battle Horses (James Hope Stewart BY Public Domain)
Spark Museum picks up the story as it enthralls us with a description of how the wild horses exploded into chaos. They plunged hither and thither as they struggled in vain to avoid jumping fish.
When calm returned to the water, the wild horses climbed up to dry land and returned to the forest. By then the exhausted electric fish had run out of electricity, and were floating harmlessly on the surface making them an easy catch.
The Link Between Pile Batteries and Electric Fishes
Electric fishes have muscles in their long, thin bodies, containing flat cells able to create and store energy like a voltaic pile of metal discs. These cells interconnect with opposing polarities. This voltage releases upon an attack signal from the fish’s central nervous system transmitters.
The crossover from Alessandro Volta and electric fishes is quite compelling, and excellent food for thought. Electricity can be used for good, but also for evil. Some electric fish change their voltage frequencies in opposite directions as they swim past each other, in order to avoid shocking each other. That is food for thought too.
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