Who doesn’t hate mosquitoes? For centuries humans have had to endure this pest, and we started to win the war when DDT came out. Of course DDT isn’t allowed any more, but now you can kill these little buggers with a new gadget. It’s like Star Wars technology for vampire defense. I want one, preferably with a USB port so I can watch the body count on my PC. It will probably be a few years before the digitized ghost of Billy Mays hawks one on TV though. Still, I want one.
Here’s some background from Information Week:
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the project has been dubbed “WMD: Weapon of Mosquito Destruction.” It aims to kill mosquitoes with lasers to prevent the spread of malaria, which mosquitoes can transmit.
The anti-mosquito laser system is being funded by Intellectual Ventures, a company run by Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft’s former CTO.
…
Kare said that “WMD: Weapon of Mosquito Destruction” isn’t a term used internally to refer to the project. He calls the project “the Photonic Fence.” “When we’re being lighthearted, we call it ‘the bug zapper,'” he explained.
As its name suggests, the Photonic Fence prototype consists of two posts that direct laser fire at mosquitoes that fly between them. Kare said the research team is still optimizing its targeting algorithm. “But we definitely can detect them and aim a beam at them,” he said.
When that happens, the mosquitoes literally get toasted.
From the intellectualventureslab.com website: This illustration shows one way our “photonic fence” mosquito laser system could be used to set up a perimeter defense, protecting a single building. The red “fence” shows a border that mosquitoes can’t pass through, but it is safe for everything else. There is no top coverage because mosquitoes don’t fly very high.
Here’s the videos of mosquitoes meeting a well deserved death by laser fire:
Here’s the live demonstration setup at the 2010 TED conference:
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I notice in the first clip a bit of smoke is generated when the wings are toasted. I am sure some group will rant about the extra greenhouse gasses emitted by frying these little buggers, not to mention all the carbon generated to power the lasers.
This has some potential. Combined with recent skeeter attractants like they have in the LP powered traps to lure them to the laser chamber, it could end up commercially viable. The terrain and vegetation leakage would be a problem guarding a perimeter.
We have the ultimate bug zapper, a healthy bat population. They are cool to watch in the floodlights as they run sorties and pull incredible stunts. Oh crap, they emit CO2 as well. Never mind.
If it smokes a mosquito I’d imagine that could hurt.
A manual derivative would be amusing for the more sporting.
This will kill more than only mosquitoes. It seems it can kill anything with wings. That will include dragonflies and bees too.
Flies; I want one for those pesky flies that get inside the home …
_Jim
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If energy is applied in a pinpointed way, forming a evenly distributed pattern, it makes atoms get closer one to the other. (heated points surrounded by cooler areas). This is an old method used long ago by jibaros pronounced “heevahrohs”) indians of the amazon jungle, for shrinking their enemies’ heads (of course, after removing, the skull) by applying heated river sand in and over. (Unfortunately..☺..they do not longer use this technique as they are now fully dedicated to write in blogs like these using their satellite connections to the web).
Anthony
You closed the post on the Baltic Sea Ice because of the puerile comments.
I wanted to post this:-
The man that does not make a mistake does nothing.
Your blog is tremendous and has manage to influence the debate through the dark times, when the main stream media would not properly cover or investigate the claims made about AGW. You and others were right all along so don’t let em get to you.
Finally in order to remain on topic my advice to you, for what it is worth, is to follow that other great American and “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee”
Have good weekend and get some of that stuff from the Napa Valley down your throat.
Take care.
…in 2035, the mosquito race has been relentlessly hunted to near extinction by the machines. Hunter/killer laser drones scour the charred ruins of the mosquito’s last stronghold, the Himalayan glaciers, in search of the last vestiges of Culicidaeity.
Victory for the machines seems close at hand, but one mosquito begins to change the face of the war. He unites the mosquitoes against the machines and brings hope to the last remaining mosquitoes on Earth. For the first time, mosquitoes believe they can win the war against Skylasernet.
The machines send one of their own back in time to make sure this mosquito is never born.
“The Termosquito”
A James Hansen film.
“Steve Schaper (10:15:47) :
Can it be adjusted to get flies, too?”
Can it be adjusted to get Jehovah Witnesses?
“Mr Lynn (10:11:40) :
Aren’t lasers dangerous to human eyes? How do they avoid them?”
Spot on! And exposure to radiation from the lasers will cause cancer.
Gary Hladik (10:54:47) :
Forbidden Planet was possibly the only movie where Leslie Nielsen had a “serious” role. Although it was a good movie for the time, I can see why he went to comedy.
Given my coming relocation to a very mosquito prone area (interior Alaska), I’m a fan of anything that kills the little brutes. However, laser based mosquito killing seems impractical given the need to supply power, its exposure to the elements (e.g., keeping all lenses clean, etc), and deployment considerations. Optical interference could be another problem … for example, I have been bitten many times under quite foggy conditions.
Unfortunately, the two most successful methods to control mosquitoes have politically incorrect elements … DDT (as mentioned above), and ironically (given a frequent subject of this blog), CO2 traps. CO2 traps are by far the most successful way to control them near your home … they are basically lures that can clear out a sizable area from the little blood suckers.
We love you Anthony!!
Re: the Baltic thingy.
Pedantic nonsense you should ignore, but sometimes people just want your site to be very accurate so that some folks (you know who) can’t complain. I know, it probably seems like picky stuff from your end, but I’m sure that some of it is well intended. If you think that it’s picky, please just ignore it.
Thanks for all that you do!!
Now awaiting the eco-friendly low-carbon version using solar cells with recyclable rechargeable batteries…
As opposed to a real natural solution like putting up a bat house. “A single brown bat can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes in one hour. They are a great natural pest controller.”
Granted that idea is not as sexy as a “Laser Beam Curtain of DEATH,” but still…
More than likely it is steam rather than smoke as the mozzie is being boiled rather than fried. Since water vapour is the most important greenhouse gas, it will doubtless fall foul of the CAGW people, who are probably all rather keen on malaria as a good way to keep population growth in check…. (sorry, couldn’t resist)
The wings do disintegrate rather well though, don’t they?
“There is no top coverage because mosquitoes don’t fly very high”.
THAT’S NOT TRUE.
Spend some time in watch towers 30 meters above ground level and I can confirm from personal observation that bloodthirsty Mosquito’s go where people go.
I am interested though in a more powerful system to zap the tax collector and other uninvited guests!
> I don’t want these banned because they cause global warming or something….
Everything causes global warming, dude.
Everything.
http://www.numberwatch.co.uk/warmlist.htm
WIll it work on climatologists 🙂
My neighbor’s yipping-yapping dog is more annoying and pernicious than any mosquito (anopheles included). Wonder if those things be callibrated to shoot through a cedar fence.
On closer inspection the link I posted offers a guide to things that are caused by global warming. Sorry. Still entertaining however.
R. de Haan (11:51:34) : Perhaps you are wrong and they have learned to use the elevators…
This so wrong on many levels. Shouldn’t we be trying to preserve the populations as they are, and maintain the species? I say “All species deserve equal protection under the law!”
This is a travesty! I mean Polar bears are cute and cuddly until they grow up and want to eat you…It’s just not fair…
“Paddy (11:25:09) :
“Mr Lynn (10:11:40) :
Aren’t lasers dangerous to human eyes? How do they avoid them?”
Spot on! And exposure to radiation from the lasers will cause cancer.”
——————–
Just close your eyes and you will survive
Nit pickers are out in force today.
Hmmmm … perhaps a nit-picker zapper?
The good news … it’s Friday. Party hearty tonight and let’s give Anthony a break so the man can sleep in tomorrow (or try to).
Shouldn’t they be “frikkin’ mosquitoes”?