How and Why Certain Fish Have the Ability to Generate Their Own Electricity

In an electrifying animated lesson from Ted Ed, scientific educator Eleanor Nelsen explains via narrator Julianna Zarzycki, why certain fish have the ability to create electricity, the different types of electricity created by different fish, how that electricity is used and why thes fish aren’t able to electrocute themselves.

Nearly 350 species of fish have specialized anatomical structures that generate and detect electrical signals. Underwater, where light is scarce, electrical signals offer ways to communicate, navigate, find, and sometimes stun prey. But how do these fish produce electricity? And why? Eleanor Nelsen illuminates the science behind electric fish.