Re: Bioelectronics (Living Batteries)

[John Bryan <jbryan@micron.net>]

Russell Groves wrote:

> Do you know how the ray insulates its power storage?

	The hexagonal stacks are tightly arranged in a honeycomb structure.
The material that the honeycomb is made from would have to be a good 
insulator. I'm not sure what it is, perhaps cartilidge. The batteries are 
controlled by four nerves from each side of a special lobe of the brain.
The main nerves branch repeatedly and their fine end branches attach to the
lower side of each plate.

> Or how it triggers a discharge when harrassed?

	It uses a "Bubba" contactor! Well, maybe not but I would imagine
that in it's nervous system would have to be structures very much like 
relays. I just came across some interesting specs on the Electric eel.
It has 5-6 thousand plates running the length of it's body, positive toward
the head and negative at the tail. In addition, there are 2 other batteries
that are seperate from the main pack. One is an accessory battery that is in 
use at all times and the other battery is used only to fire the main pack.
When moving, it gives out 20-50 impulses/second for direction finding. When
stunning prey, the 2nd small battery fires the main pack which gives out a
series of 3-6 powerful waves of current at up to....550 volts!
	Long before electricity was understood, early Romans described how
"A torpedo took the bait on a bronze hook and emitted from it's poisonous 
veins an effluence which spread far and wide thourough the water and also 
crept up the line to the fisherman's hands and congealed his blood, so that 
he threw away his rod." Yet the Roman physicians used the fish to treat gout, 
headaches and other ailments. The patient either stood on a live torpedo or 
had the live fish clapped to his temples. It's easy to see how that would
cure a headache, or practically anything else that might be ailing you.

John Bryan