The scientist jolted when he caught the eel's shot

An American scientist transforms himself into a sharp circuit when gripping two ends of the electric glider to determine its potential.

Kenneth Catania , a biologist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, lets a small electric eel transmit electricity through his arm when recording electricity. Catania published the results of the experiment in the September 14 issue of Current Biology, according to National Geographic.

Catania is no stranger to the eel's jerk."I stumbled a few times by accident. I know what awaits me , " Catania said. When asked how intentionally electric shock is, Catania replied, "I feel very impressed. Let's just say so."


Electric eels jerks can reach 40-50 milliamperes.(Video: National Geographic).

Electric eels are like electric guns, batteries and remote controls wrapped around a snake-like creature.In fact, they are not true eels, but a fish in the Amazon forest called electric eels.

In the past few years, Catania has discovered how eels use weak electrical impulses to sniff their prey. He pointed out that the stronger electrical impulses released by eels caused the fish to bounce off the cover and they specialized in rolling around the prey to transmit high-voltage currents. They also discharge electricity to defend themselves. In 2016, Catania confirmed when threatened, electric eels escaped from the water to release a powerful electric shock.

In the experiment, Catania began building parts of live circuits. By grasping the eel while wearing special gloves, he was able to determine the potential inside the eel as well as measure its resistance. He also measured resistance in the water where the eel lives.

When the small eel crawls on Catania's arm, the combination of fish and humans acts as a transformer. If the eel only slightly protrudes from the water surface, most of the current will flow back to the tank. As it rises higher, resistance increases, and electricity passes more through Catania's arm."It's a clever strategy, almost like an eel is increasing the volume control knob , " Catania said.

Picture 1 of The scientist jolted when he caught the eel's shot
When electric eels raise their heads high out of the water, the electric current they emit is stronger.

As the animals slowly get closer to the target, the more they raise their heads higher from the water, the stronger the current they discharge. At the strongest level, the eel transmits electricity up to 40-50 milliamperes through the hands of Catania while only 10 milliamperes are painful enough. The electricity was four times stronger, which boosted the unconditional reflexes in Catania, causing his body to shake from the eel. In terms of electricity, the eel's electric pulse is 10 times larger than an electric gun.

Catania shared that he still had questions to answer such as electric eel to not jerk his own body."There are so many questions that I don't know if I'm not sure what I'm going to do next , " Catania said.