The Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy, Utah, is using Electric eel-powered lighting this Christmas.
The Christmas display in the aquarium's Journey to South America gallery is being generated by an an eel in a nearby tank - every time the eel moves the lights on the 5' tree flash.
"We took the voltage produced by the eel via stainless steel electrodes and used it to power a sequencer," said Terry Smith, project manager at Cache Valley Electric. "The sequencer takes the voltage the eel produces and operates circuitry that flashes the lights, fast or slow, based on the level of voltage he puts out."
In the past, Electric eels have also been used to power Christmas lighting at the Enoshima Aquarium in Kamakura, just south of Tokyo.
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