Most of us have probably used a 9-volt battery. They power small household items such as clocks, smoke detectors, and toys. Now think about what you could power with 860 volts. It’s 95 times the ...

The face of an electric eel. The massive electric organ in this species is made up of platelets of modified muscle fibers connected in series along the body. Each electroplate generates only 0.1 volt, ...

A recent study has found that the electricity produced by an electric eel’s discharge is strong enough to cause the transfer of genetic material from the environment into the cells of nearby animals.

Fish with exotic powers have long captured the imagination. Alessandro Volta noted striking similarity between electric fish and the voltaic piles from which he made the first effective battery.