The electric catfish(Malapterurus electricus) is an aggressive fish, 1.0 m in length, foundtoday in tropical Africa. The catfish is capable of generating jolts ofelectricity up to 350 V by producing a positively charged region ofmuscle near the head and a negatively charged region near the tail.(a) For the same amount of charge, can the catfish generate a highervoltage by separating the charge from one end of its body to theother, as it does, or from one side of the body to the other? Explain.(b) Estimate the charge generated at each end of a catfish as follows: Treat the catfish as a parallel-plate capacitor with plates ofarea 1.8 * 10-2m2, separation 1.0 m, and filled with a dielectricwith a dielectric constant k = 95
The electric catfish
(Malapterurus electricus) is an aggressive fish, 1.0 m in length, found
today in tropical Africa. The catfish is capable of generating jolts of
electricity up to 350 V by producing a positively charged region of
muscle near the head and a negatively charged region near the tail.
(a) For the same amount of charge, can the catfish generate a higher
voltage by separating the charge from one end of its body to the
other, as it does, or from one side of the body to the other? Explain.
(b) Estimate the charge generated at each end of a catfish as follows: Treat the catfish as a parallel-plate capacitor with plates of
area 1.8 * 10-2
m2
, separation 1.0 m, and filled with a dielectric
with a dielectric constant k = 95
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