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For several decades there have been various incarnations of the idea of using lasers to zap flying insects, particularly mosquitoes. One of the systems in active development is the Photonic Fence from Intellectual Ventures Laboratory. Researchers from the laboratory recently published their findings on determining the optimal dosage to kill mosquitoes using the least amount of energy. One of the criticisms of their system has been that the areas in greatest need for mosquito eradication provide unreliable power, so their system would most likely need to operate by providing its own power.
Their research found that the optimal pulse duration for the lasers they are considering in their design is 25 ms. A significant difference between this research and their previous work is that this study was conducted on in-flight mosquitoes as opposed to previous work that used anesthetized specimens, which demonstrated their vision-based track and targeting system. An added bonus is the four slow-motion videos provided in the Supplemental Information section showing mosquitoes being zapped.
Keller, M.D., Norton, B.J., Farrar, D.J. et al. Optical tracking and laser-induced mortality of insects during flight, Sci Rep 10, 14795 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-71824-y
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday September 21 2020, @03:27PM (1 child)
Yep - if you get off on seeing dead bugs, you can add a mesh net bad in front of the fan. I doubt there is a whole lot of net difference in bug bites with/without the mesh bag, but it is gratifying to see that the effort is "making a difference."
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Tuesday September 22 2020, @04:41AM
I'm having a Déjà vu that I've written this before here. Anyway, I remember as a kid in the 70s at various roadside hamburger and ice cream places under the eves kind of above where you'd stand to order food they'd have this bug catcher that was super gross. It would have a circular florescent lamp with a fan in the middle and a cloth bag and it would always be full of bugs. Bugs love the UV from the florescent lamp.
My neighbor used to have one of those bug zappers outside with the UV bulb and charged screens. The sounds were somewhat annoying on a warm summer night, especially when something would get lodged in it and it would buzz and crackle and buzz. Shame is it would kill good and bad bugs.
I know mosquitoes are attracted to heat and CO2, but are they attracted to UV?