Posted 03.27.2012 at 5:47 pm
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Deep-sea microbes
NOAA PMELS Vents Program
Eels aren't the only creatures that can deliver a painful zap of electricity. In fact, not all of them are even marine animals. Here are some others.
Deep-sea microbes: At the bottom of the ocean, these “living batteries” move electrons across the metals on which they live.
Oriental Hornet: Wikimedia Commons
Oriental hornet: Brown pigments in the hornet’s exoskeleton trap sunlight, while its yellow tissues convert the sunlight into electricity. No one knows why.
Elephantnose fish: Wikimedia Commons
Elephantnose fish: Signals travel down the fish’s spinal nerves and excite electric cells near its tail, creating an electrical field that the fish uses for navigation.
Electric Catfish: Wikimedia Commons
Electric catfish: The fish can generate enough electricity to power a computer for an hour; it stuns prey with its shock.
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I'm shocked to see an insect on the list...the fish weren't a shock nor was the microbe.
Self sustaining habitat that generates food and electricity for long space voayages? Can you fry catfish in space?
Just use a ton of catfish in a large tank to help power homes. Another form of renewable energy?
"A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?" - Albert Einstein