Daily Devotional – March 14

Biology

Electric eels are not eels but fish that live in the murky waters of South America. They can reach 6 feet long and weigh 45 pounds. All living things generate electrical charges in their cells. The electric eel has thousands of modified cells in its tail that are lined up like batteries in a flashlight. Each cell can generate only about 0.15 volts, but stacked together, the 6,000 cells make one giant battery that can generate as much as 600 volts. In comparison, a car battery generates 12 volts yet has enough power to start a large car engine.

Pure water is a very poor conductor of electricity, but the waters where electric eels live have enough salt and other minerals to make the water a good conductor. To shock their prey, electric eels bring their positive end, located in their head, close to the negative end, located in their tail. The electric shock is sent out from the positive end to the negative end of the “battery.” How did the eel know to trap its prey between its head and tail such that the electrical discharge would stun or kill its prey? Basic physics teaches that bringing two opposite electrical poles together concentrates the electric field. Evolutionists call eels “primitive creatures”, but creationists studying eels are not “shocked” by their level of sophistication. God created these creatures to glorify Him.

I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.

- Psalm 145:5

Source: "Pearls in Paradise" by authors Bruce Malone and Jule Von Vett

References for this devotional.