Electricity in Our Bodies

A little over a week ago, in “More Elemental Musings”, I said I’d try to connect the dots in the next week. (see also the original “Elemental Musings”). But alas, in my research, I found many more dots, so it was too soon to try to connect them. After my mind is freewheeling at 5 AM, sometimes I have lots of Why? and How? questions, so that leads to more research, which usually leads to more questions…

The main point in the 6/24 post was that when God created light it was by merely speaking it into existence – that’s a kind of power that is immeasurable. Jesus spoke and even the wind and waves obeyed Him.

When I speak, I’m lucky if anyone listens, and I’d be very surprised if anything actually happened as a result.

When God created light, He was creating electromagnetic waves of energy. So really, all energy and power came from Him. Since invisible electromagnetic waves are all around us, it makes me wonder how they affect us.

Today I’m thinking about how important electrical activity is in our bodies. This is a little different from radiation from electromagnetic waves. It’s caused by charged molecules interacting with each other.

ions

Atoms and molecules with a positive or negative charge are called ions. When these tiny particles become ionized, they have electric potential. When a bunch of positively charged particles meet up with a bunch of negatively charged particles, there is a reaction – a pulse of electricity. If the body of charged particles is really big, with a high enough potential, the reaction is an explosion – witness thunder and lightning.

batteries

Batteries take advantage of the electric potential of positive and negative charges. Rather than touching the terminal cables together to get a ‘short’ and a big spark, the potential energy can be directed through conductors (like copper or aluminum wires) to do some work.

electricity and magnetism

Electricity is always associated with magnetism, because when charged particles get moving, they are surrounded by a magnetic field, resulting in an electromagnetic force field.

The other day, about 5 AM when there are no distractions, I got thinking about the electrical nature of our bodies. So much of physiology depends on internal electrical activity.

here are just a few ways that our bodies need electric activity

For one thing, we need sunlight’s electromagnetic radiation to make vitamin D. Sunlight affects our cells in a reaction somewhat like the way plants utilize sunlight energy in photosynthesis.

Just as God created light and electromagnetic waves, of course He also created man, including the electrical nature of our bodies.

“Your hands made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding…” Psalm 119:73

My nurse daughter tells me to drink water with plenty of electrolytes.

Drinks with ‘ionized’ molecules, ie., electrically charged particles. Our cells use electrolytes to conduct electrical charges, which is how our muscles contract. Those same electrical charges also help with chemical reactions, hydration, and the balance of fluids inside and outside of cells.

The key principle electrolytes rely on is that certain chemical elements can naturally hold a positive or a negative electrical charge. When those elements are dissolved in a liquid, that liquid can then conduct electricity.

My wife was a nurse. She worked in ER. Every year she got some Hood-to-Coast runners brought in by ambulance due to dehydration.

Just drinking water to replace sweat is not always enough, because sweat is salty, so when you sweat, you’re losing electrolytes. In the extreme, that can kill you.

The heart beats to an electrical impulse, which appears in an EKG (electrocardiogram) as a wave.

Our brains are electrically active, too. This can be measured with an EEG (electroencephalogram).

from sciencedirect.com - “Brain waves are oscillating electrical voltages in the brain measuring just a few millionths of a volt… There are five widely recognized brain waves, and the main frequencies of human EEG waves are listed in Table 2.1 along with their characteristics.”

Our nerves carry electric impulses.

from libretext.org “Nerve impulses are electrical in nature. They result from a difference in electrical charge across the plasma membrane of a neuron. How does this difference in electrical charge come about? The answer involves ions”

from nih.gov “Nerve cells generate electrical signals that transmit information. Although neurons are not intrinsically good conductors of electricity, they have…elaborate mechanisms for generating electrical signals based on the flow of ions across their plasma membranes.”

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made Psa139:13-14