tinyboy21 Posted September 9, 2004 Posted September 9, 2004 I know that there is a small amount of electricity is in the brain, but how much? And how much can the brain withstand?
5614 Posted September 9, 2004 Posted September 9, 2004 it is extremely low current and quite low voltage. the voltage can be higher as the resistance of the brain drags down the current flowing. it is useless attaching a voltometer or ammeter to your head, as the resistance of your skin and skull muck up the experiment.
MolecularMan14 Posted September 9, 2004 Posted September 9, 2004 What exactly is there was a greater amount of electricy flowing through? Even with the resistance, what would be the affects on the brain?
5614 Posted September 9, 2004 Posted September 9, 2004 the brain works via electrical signals. higher voltages to the brain would kill you [presumably] you would not become cleverer or something. electrical current in your brain is not proprtionate to your IQ or brain power.
pulkit Posted September 9, 2004 Posted September 9, 2004 the brain works via electrical impulses. higher voltages to the brain would kill you [presumably] you would not become cleverer or something.electrical current in your brain is not proprtionate to your IQ or brain power. Technically speaking electrical impulses are short bursts of high voltage or current.You should rephrse it as "electrical signals"
YT2095 Posted September 10, 2004 Posted September 10, 2004 IIRC the brain dissipates about 100w of energy, what percentage of that is electrical I don`t know.
Thales Posted September 10, 2004 Posted September 10, 2004 The electrical potential of individual neurons is quite low, around 40mV. The electric signals that cause neurons to fire does not run across neurons but is limited to the neurons individually. The synaptic gap (between neurons as they do not actually 'touch') is bridged by chemical signals known as neurotransmitters (such as dopamine and serotinin). So the electrical potential of the brain as a whole is very close to zero.
tinyboy21 Posted September 10, 2004 Author Posted September 10, 2004 Is it the right kind of energy that could turn on a lightbulb? In larger amounts.
5614 Posted September 10, 2004 Posted September 10, 2004 the electrical energy in the brain could power a light [in higher quantities] you can have non-electrical energy, which is what YT is referring to, however there is still some electrical current and energy in the brain, which theoretically could power a bulb or circuit. [if harnessed]
tinyboy21 Posted September 10, 2004 Author Posted September 10, 2004 Cool. Thanks everyone for your thoughts.
YT2095 Posted September 10, 2004 Posted September 10, 2004 Is it the right kind of energy that could turn on a lightbulb? In larger amounts.Energy comes in many formats; Motion, electrical, heat, photons (also heat related) and so on... they all fall into 2 basic catagories, Potential and Kinetic. the 100W I spoke of is dissipated energy and so it would be under the Kinetic catagory. it would be possible to utilise the entire brain output of energy to perhaps light a bulb or charge a battery, it Wouldn`t be very efficient though. as for pure electrical, I`de guess in the region of milli volts and micro amps, per signal (hence the EEG amplification and filtering needed in scans). I`m sure Glider will give you a Much More informed answer than myself though )
Glider Posted September 11, 2004 Posted September 11, 2004 As YT intimates, the total energy used in the brain is quite high and takes many forms. The brain is a greedy organ, using around 25% of our total oxygen intake. The activity (energy use) in the brain takes many forms, oxydisasion of glucose (Kreb's cycle), which also generates heat, the movement of ions; particularly Na and K, the molecular mechanics of ion pumps and so-on. Much of this changes according to demand and so is hard to measure. However, the basic mechanism of neural function is electrochemical, and it has been estimated that the net electrical potential in the brain is about enough to light (and maintain) a 10w lamp.
MolecularMan14 Posted September 11, 2004 Posted September 11, 2004 the brain works via electrical signals. higher voltages to the brain would kill you [presumably] you would not become cleverer or something.electrical current in your brain is not proprtionate to your IQ or brain power. lmao, thanks for the tip. Im not 6 years old
YT2095 Posted September 13, 2004 Posted September 13, 2004 electrical charges "shocks" of significance, tend to effect the region of contact and the Medula Oblongata (I`m sure Glider will correct any typos in it`s spelling). this region of the brain controls the part that keeps us alive, Heart rate, Breathing etc... often these "shocks" may not kill us, but they WILL cause havoc for many weeks to come ( I`ve seen this happen and also experienced it myself more than once, I was lucky and only had problems for a week or so at a time, my friend got hospitalised several times for about 3 months after an elec shock (back of a TV) as he kept blacking out for no reason, and at the most inconvenient times! in THAT respect, it DOES you smarter! ( you learn never to do it again!)
5614 Posted September 13, 2004 Posted September 13, 2004 basically, dont electrocute your head! apparently 3 people every year die from putting a 9V battery on their tounge, yet i know many people who have done this, just a random fact!
sanjaygeorge Posted September 16, 2004 Posted September 16, 2004 There r some people who can produce electricity in the body, so that they can run a T.V or a 220V Bulbs,etc. IS resistance low in them? I once saw them on T.V
Cap'n Refsmmat Posted September 16, 2004 Posted September 16, 2004 Are you sure that wasn't just a magic show or something? Google shows nothing like that, unless static electricity counts. The only good result it came up with was how to produce electricity from the waste energy of humans.
drlloyd2007 Posted September 15, 2008 Posted September 15, 2008 Assuming the brain consumes approx 30Watts and there are 100 Billion cells that means each cell uses 300 Pico Watts ? Since Power in Watts is Volts times Current then current in each cell is 300 Pico Watts divided by the voltage in each cell.. if for instance the voltage is 3 Volts then there will be 100 Pico amps in each cell ?? Seems of right magnitude ? Rod LLoyd Wales ,Uk
Sisyphus Posted September 15, 2008 Posted September 15, 2008 lmao, thanks for the tip. Im not 6 years old You'd be surprised what some adults think are good ideas.
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