Page 32 - The Miracle of Electricity in the Body

30 THE MIRACLE OF ELECTRICITY IN THE BODY

sions varying between 0.004 and 0.1 millimeters (0.0001575 and 0.003937
of an inch) and wide-ranging communication mechanisms, this minia-
turized telephone exchange has no equivalent in the modern world. In
contrast to other cells, neurons contain both dendrites and axons, which
give rise to lines of communication that permit the cell to pass its signals
along to others. Dendrites receive messages, and axons send them.
A neuron can send an impulse in as little as 1/1,000 of a second.
This means that a single neuron can transmit 1,000 nerve signals a sec-
ond. In general, however, transmission may range between 10 and 500
9
impulses per second. The largest and thickest nerve fibers transmit
electricity at a speed of 152 meters (500 feet) per second, and the thinnest
of them at about 1 meter (3 feet) a second. Information is transmitted
10
without impairment inside the neuron and forwarded to the correct des-
tination in a most astonishing way. However, the speed at which these
phenomena take place is no less astonishing.
Imagine that all the complex systems in your body exist, but that
the data transmission in your nerve cells is slower than it actually is:
Only hours after the event could you appreciate the beauty of a view, the

taste of the food you ate, or that something you touched was hot enough
to burn your fingers. You would need dozens of minutes to reply to a
question put to you. Crossing from one side of the street to another, or
driving, lifting a fork to your mouth, commenting on an article of cloth-
ing you like, and countless other forms of behavior could lengthen into
situations seriously incompatible with your lifestyle, or which even en-
dangered your life. Lapses in timing between an event you perceive and
being able to speak might make life untenable. Furthermore, this exam-
ple only considers actions that we undertake voluntarily. The body also
performs activities outside our conscious control, such as the beating of
the heart. Any slowing in the signals regarding these functions would
have fatal consequences. However, through the blessing of our Lord, the
Compassionate and Merciful, everything in the human body is just as it
needs to be.
In one verse of the Qur’an it is revealed that God has created all
things in their proper measure: