Can a shock from an electric eel burn?

Sep 15, 2006 12 Replies

Hi:



Can the electric shock caused by contact with an electric eel raise the temperature of the victim's skin/flesh sufficiently to cause burn injuries?


Thanks,



Radium



650 volts? You'll look surprised!!

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I don't think so. it takes a much higher current than the eel produces. and it'd burn the eel too...

Bye. Jasen

So, tell us just how much current they produce.

Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I\'ve got my DD214 to prove it. Member of DAV #85. Michael A. Terrell Central Florida

Up to one amp is stated. That'll hurt - or kill you if you're Australian.

A one amp flow at hundreds of volts would cause a lot of heating, wouldn't it?

Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I\'ve got my DD214 to prove it. Member of DAV #85. Michael A. Terrell Central Florida

Well, in sources outside of water, 650 volts would burn the flesh. I guess the excellent conductivity of the salt water in the sea decreases the amount of ohm heating that occurs. But, as usual, I could be wrong.

Hmm, I seem to recall that electric eels are freshwater creatures that live in muddy rivers in South America. I'm no expert, but I'd say the eel doesn't get burned because its total output is spread over a large surface area. Of course, the victim is not burned either, just stunned and/or disoriented long enough for the eel to make its moves.

Best regards,

Bob Masta dqatechATdaqartaDOTcom D A Q A R T A Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis

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Home of DaqGen, the FREEWARE signal generator

Depends on how many amps they had for breakfast.

Banning guns is a big relief for criminals, they can now work safely. Claude Hopper

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net:

As a basis for comparison my soldering iron uses just .24 A at 125V to get 30W...

Puckdropper

Wise is the man who attempts to answer his question before asking it. To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm

So, howcome nobody's started eel farms to generate electricity with?

Thanks, Rich

It's hard to hook them up to the microwave.

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