The Shocking Origin of the Modern Battery: How Electric Eels Inspired Innovation

Alexander von Humboldt was one of the most celebrated scientists of his time, a towering figure who laid the foundations for modern geography, botany, and zoology. His influence stretched far beyond science. Thinkers and leaders such as Goethe, Thomas Jefferson, and even Napoleon admired his work. Yet despite his fame, Humboldt’s legacy faded for a time, overshadowed by rising anti German sentiment in the years leading up to World War I.

Humboldt was not a scientist who stayed behind a desk. He ventured deep into uncharted territories, including vast regions of South America. During one of these journeys, he arrived at Lake Valencia near present day Caracas, where he heard strange local accounts of eels living in shallow lakes that could incapacitate large animals with powerful electric shocks.

The experiment no one believed

Intrigued, Humboldt wanted to observe these creatures firsthand. The locals warned him that the eels lived buried deep in the mud and that anyone who entered the water risked paralysis. Undeterred, Humboldt devised a dramatic experiment. He gathered thirty horses and drove them into a lake believed to be inhabited by electric eels.

The disturbance stirred the eels from the mud. They surged toward the horses, leaping from the water, wrapping themselves around the animals, and delivering powerful electric shocks. The scene was chaotic and dangerous. Eventually, after repeated discharges, the eels exhausted their electrical capacity. Humboldt and his team were then able to capture one eel using wooden rods, avoiding direct contact, and study it up close.

Humboldt documented his observations carefully, publishing his findings in a work that later became a bestseller. He even suggested that the biological mechanism used by electric eels to generate electricity might one day be harnessed to create artificial batteries capable of powering electrical devices. At the time, many in the scientific community dismissed his conclusions as exaggerated or implausible, viewing the account as more adventure than science.

Proven two centuries later

Remarkably, Humboldt was vindicated more than two centuries later. In 2016, American eel researcher Kenneth Catania replicated Humboldt’s experiment using plastic mock horses rather than real animals. His results confirmed that electric eels do indeed leap from the water and discharge electricity when threatened, exactly as Humboldt had described.

Nature’s living battery

Electric eels generate electricity through millions of specialized cells distributed throughout their bodies. Each cell stores a tiny electrical charge, but when activated simultaneously by the brain, they release a combined discharge of up to 600 volts, roughly equivalent to 400 standard batteries. This sudden surge is powerful enough to instantly stun predators or prey.

This raises an obvious question: how do electric eels avoid electrocuting themselves? Surprisingly, scientists still do not have a definitive answer. They suspect that the eel’s nervous system is uniquely adapted to withstand the shock and that electricity disperses outward through the surrounding water rather than back into the eel’s own tissues.

Electric eels come in several varieties, including one known as the torpedo eel, a name that later inspired the term for underwater missiles. Despite their intimidating power, eels are reclusive creatures that must actively detect their prey. They generate a weak electric field around their bodies, using it much like a biological radar system. When a suitable target enters the field, the eel strikes with astonishing speed, disabling and consuming its prey in less than a second.

Catania confirmed this electrical tracking ability by observing that eels ignored prey unless it was electrically detectable. Even more astonishing, electric eels communicate with one another using electrical signals. Through these silent electric conversations, they alert each other to nearby prey, coordinating their behavior in a way that rivals modern technology.

Inspiration beyond biology

This remarkable system of power, perception, and communication reflects an extraordinary level of design. It is yet another example of the profound wisdom embedded in the natural world, pointing to the handiwork of Hashem in even the most hidden corners of creation.

As for the modern battery, it was eventually invented by Alessandro Volta, who was inspired by Humboldt’s research into electric eel anatomy. Volta referred to his invention as an artificial electrical organ, acknowledging that electricity had once been thought to exist only in living beings.

What an extraordinary reminder of the wonders that Hashem has woven into the fabric of the natural world.