Electrical potential
Friday, November 6th, 2009
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The electric eel inspires a new type of battery
IN DECEMBER 2007, a Japanese aquarium hooked up the lights on a Christmas tree to a tank containing an electric eel. Metal plates at the ends of the tank collected the electricity that the fish generated, which was used to power the bulbs. It was certainly effective as a publicity stunt. Now some researchers in America have developed a battery that generates electricity in a similar way.
Many creatures use differences in the concentration of ions (electically charged atoms) within the body to do work. Human brains, for example, rely on electrical impulses to release calcium ions that bind to neurotransmitters that, in turn, communicate with the rest of the nervous system. The mechanism that allows Electrophorus electricus to produce a shock as strong as a wall socket employs differences in the concentration of sodium ions in some 6,000 specialised cells called electrocytes. These cells are normally electrically isolated from one another. When the eel locates its prey, it opens a series of cellular gates through which the ions can flow. This movement of charged ions, when the eel is in a conductive solution like water, creates an electric current.
David LaVan of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Maryland and his colleagues wanted to study the operation of living cell membranes and their proteins. They began by experimenting on artificial “protocells”. These, like real cells, were surrounded by membranes made of fatty molecules. Proteins “floating” in the membranes would let only certain ions pass. Using this system, the researchers realised that they might be able to copy the eel’s electricity-generation mechanism.
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