It's shocking what animals can teach us about electricity
Black Ghost Knifefish Apteronotus albifrons , stolen from Wikimedia A semi-serious look at bioelectricity, solar panels, and the fish that could maybe power your house, well, probably not. Electricity has a reputation problem, and I promise you it’s not because I have been spreading around how much I dislike working on household electrical problems. On one hand, it powers your coffee maker, your phone, and whatever binge-worthy show you are pretending not to watch at 2 a.m (Taskmaster, of course). On the other hand, it can stop your heart. Is it good or bad? As with most things in biology, the answer is yes. The animal kingdom has been quietly running electrical experiments for hundreds of millions of years, and the results are, frankly, embarrassing for us. While humans needed Benjamin Franklin, a kite, and a near-death experience to figure out the basics, fish had already sorted out passive detection, active field generation, and interspecies electro-eavesdropping before ...