ancient egyptian was the first person who discovered shocks from electric fish.
ancient egyptian was the first person who discovered shocks from electric fish.
who was the first person who discovered shocks from electric fish?
ancient egyptian
long before any knowledge of electricity existed, people were aware of shocks from electric fish. ancient egyptian texts dating from 2750 bce referred to these fish as the "thunderer of the nile", and described them as the "protectors" of all other fish. electric fish were again reported millennia later by ancient greek, roman and arabic naturalists and physicians. several ancient writers, such as pliny the elder and scribonius largus, attested to the numbing effect of electric shocks delivered by electric catfish and electric rays, and knew that such shocks could travel along conducting objects. patients suffering from ailments such as gout or headache were directed to touch electric fish in the hope that the powerful jolt might cure them. possibly the earliest and nearest approach to the discovery of the identity of lightning, and electricity from any other source, is to be attributed to the arabs, who before the 15th century had the arabic word for lightning "ra‘ad" () applied to the electric ray.
electricity
electric fish are capable of generating an external electric fields or receive electric fields (electroreception). electric fish can be further divided into three categories: strongly discharging, weakly discharging, and fish that sense but is unable to generate electric fields. strongly electric fish generate strong electric field up to 500 volts for predatory purposes; strongly electric fish include both marine and fresh water fishes (two freshwater taxa- african electric catfish ("malapterurus electricus") and the neotropical electric eel ("electrophorus electricus") and the marine torpedo rays ("torpedo")). weakly electric fish generates electric fields mainly for communication and electrolocation purposes; weakly electric fish are found in fresh water only and includes african freshwater mormyridae and "gymnarchus" and neotropical electric knifefishes. lastly, fish that are only able to detect electrical signals includes sharks, rays, skates, catfishes, and a number of other groups (see electroreception).
electrocommunication