Application Note

4 Fluke Corporation On the rivers of Suriname, electric eels reveal their secrets
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Printed in U.S.A. 6/2012 4232795A_EN
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What the Electric Eel lacks in looks it makes up for in talent. The eels can reach six feet in length, weigh 40 pounds and
produce a 500-volt DC shock. Here Professor Crampton shows off a midsize specimen. Courtesy of Windfall Films, Ltd.
Something in the Water . . .
Unlike sound, which can travel tremen-
dous distances in water, electrical signals
decay rapidly as distance increases,
Crampton said. The nature of water in
the Amazon basin also affects the sig-
nals. Much of the water is low in mineral
salts, and electrical conductivity can range
from three to four micro Siemens per
centimeter (µS/cm) to 20 or 30 µS/cm,
Crampton said—not far from the 10 µS/cm
of distilled water. That inhibits electrical
signals from traveling far. In the so-called
“white water” rivers infused with miner-
als eroded from the slopes of the Andes,
conductivity is higher: 100 to 300 µS/cm.
Sea water, by contrast, may measure
20,000 µS/cm.