How are axons and electrical wires different?

 

Axons are parts of the nerve cells that transmit nerve impulses from one cell of the nerve to the other. This involves the exchange of charged ions such as sodium, potassium and calcium inside and outside of the cell membrane.

On the other hand, electrical wires conducts electricity using electrons which flow through a material like copper or aluminum, which offers little resistance to them. For the electrical wire to carry the pulse from one conductor to another, the conductors have to be electrically connected.

The ion channels in nerves obtain their energy from cellular metabolism and the signals in nerves travel relatively slower due to the slow transportation of the ions in the nerves, compared to the signals in wires which travel at a large fraction of the speed of light.