laser system to shot down mosquitos. longer article I was thinking of this quite a lot some while back - the system which would find approximate location of mosquito by sound or by image from video camera, then scan the area with low power laser looking for "flapping wings" signature (blinking at the mosquito wing frequency), and once it is detected, zap the mosquito with pulsed laser, and ha, eat the laser, sucker. For bonus, it can discriminate between different species and avoid shooting harmless insects. Or it could target just the malaria carrier species. Sounds lot better than DDT, as long as the area is not accessible by humans (e.g. shooting only insects at sufficient height above ground, so that human eye cant get in the path of light). post your examples of similar technology which is a little too far.

The WSJ story does not report how much money was spent in the effort or where it came from.

Here's another story of overkill. MSNBC reported a brief while ago that the stunt was performed without injury. No word yet on whether they made it into the Guinness Book of World Records.

MCAS plans to blow away world record at air show

Quote:
This year's Yuma Air Show on Saturday will end with an attempt by Marine Corps Air Station Yuma to break the world record for the longest wall of fire.
...
Hendricks said the air station will try to create a wall of fire that stretches 10,000 feet - nearly two miles long - and would be 150 feet tall.

"You will hear an explosion and feel the concussion from the heat. If you don't, we didn't do our job."
...
Then on Saturday, beginning at 5 a.m., a crew of about 20 Marines will set up 800 boxes, each containing a four-gallon bag of gasoline, on those marked spots.
...
While the Marines are setting up the boxes of fuel, Hendricks said, CAF pyrotechnic experts will come along behind them setting up the explosives, blasting caps and 20,000 feet of detonator cords.
...
Something else special about the attempt, Hendricks said, is if successful, the Marine Corps will own the record again, having originally set it at the Miramar Air Show at Miramar Air Station in San Diego.
...
"Guinness World Book of Records" guidelines for the wall say it must be continuous without gaps for at least five seconds. Flames must reach a minumum 130 feet.

This arson might be red, white and blue, but it's not green.

Quote: Original post by LessBread
The WSJ story does not report how much money was spent in the effort or where it came from.

Here's another story of overkill. MSNBC reported a brief while ago that the stunt was performed without injury. No word yet on whether they made it into the Guinness Book of World Records.

MCAS plans to blow away world record at air show

Quote:
This year's Yuma Air Show on Saturday will end with an attempt by Marine Corps Air Station Yuma to break the world record for the longest wall of fire.
...
Hendricks said the air station will try to create a wall of fire that stretches 10,000 feet - nearly two miles long - and would be 150 feet tall.

"You will hear an explosion and feel the concussion from the heat. If you don't, we didn't do our job."
...
Then on Saturday, beginning at 5 a.m., a crew of about 20 Marines will set up 800 boxes, each containing a four-gallon bag of gasoline, on those marked spots.
...
While the Marines are setting up the boxes of fuel, Hendricks said, CAF pyrotechnic experts will come along behind them setting up the explosives, blasting caps and 20,000 feet of detonator cords.
...
Something else special about the attempt, Hendricks said, is if successful, the Marine Corps will own the record again, having originally set it at the Miramar Air Show at Miramar Air Station in San Diego.
...
"Guinness World Book of Records" guidelines for the wall say it must be continuous without gaps for at least five seconds. Flames must reach a minumum 130 feet.

This arson might be red, white and blue, but it's not green.

Hey, i think i was there when they set that record. Fuck green, it was pretty awesome :). Not just the fireworks, but also meeting the American of Lore: fat, beer and obnoxiousness. No sense of style. They had done a great job of hiding themselves up untill that point, but now i know where to find them if i ever feel the need again to see some stereotypes acknowedged: airshows. I wonder if nascar can beat that.

Anyway, that mosquito laser is an awesome idea, that i have often wished existed. Yay for the progress of science.

Quote: Original post by Eelco
Hey, i think i was there when they set that record. Fuck green, it was pretty awesome :). Not just the fireworks, but also meeting the American of Lore: fat, beer and obnoxiousness. No sense of style. They had done a great job of hiding themselves up untill that point, but now i know where to find them if i ever feel the need again to see some stereotypes acknowedged: airshows. I wonder if nascar can beat that.

Hey, at least we don't have doors to no-where in our airports. WTF is with Schiphol? There are literally banks of doors in the middle of the corridors, but no wall to actually prevent movement. I was starting to think that the Dutch are getting ready for portal transportation devices. Also, the shop stored the beef jerky in the refrigerated cabinet. It's jerky, it predates refrigeration, entirely designed to be shelf stable.

In other words, you guys are weird.

Quote: Original post by Dmytry
laser system to shot down mosquitos.

longer article

I was thinking of this quite a lot some while back - the system which would find approximate location of mosquito by sound or by image from video camera, then scan the area with low power laser looking for "flapping wings" signature (blinking at the mosquito wing frequency), and once it is detected, zap the mosquito with pulsed laser, and ha, eat the laser, sucker. For bonus, it can discriminate between different species and avoid shooting harmless insects. Or it could target just the malaria carrier species. Sounds lot better than DDT, as long as the area is not accessible by humans (e.g. shooting only insects at sufficient height above ground, so that human eye cant get in the path of light).

post your examples of similar technology which is a little too far.

I for one welcome our mosquito-zapping overlords.

We're reaching a point in time where nanotechnology is going to start enabling tiny microphones and cameras in objects perhaps as small as mosquitos or houseflys. Maybe that's 20-30 years off still, but it's inevitable at this point.

And I would greatly support any technology that would allow me to zap these things automatically.

Quote: Original post by Mithrandir

Quote: Original post by Dmytry
laser system to shot down mosquitos.

longer article

I was thinking of this quite a lot some while back - the system which would find approximate location of mosquito by sound or by image from video camera, then scan the area with low power laser looking for "flapping wings" signature (blinking at the mosquito wing frequency), and once it is detected, zap the mosquito with pulsed laser, and ha, eat the laser, sucker. For bonus, it can discriminate between different species and avoid shooting harmless insects. Or it could target just the malaria carrier species. Sounds lot better than DDT, as long as the area is not accessible by humans (e.g. shooting only insects at sufficient height above ground, so that human eye cant get in the path of light).

post your examples of similar technology which is a little too far.

I for one welcome our mosquito-zapping overlords.

We're reaching a point in time where nanotechnology is going to start enabling tiny microphones and cameras in objects perhaps as small as mosquitos or houseflys. Maybe that's 20-30 years off still, but it's inevitable at this point.

And I would greatly support any technology that would allow me to zap these things automatically.

Ah. Gives new, no wait, old meaning to the term bugging a house.

Still photos of the "wall of fire" can be found here: 2009 MCAS Yuma Air Show

Here's a taste.



Ironically, those planes are Japanese Zeroes. The "wall of fire" was the grand finale to a reenactment of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. In that respect I find it anachronistic.

If msnbc has posted video, I couldn't find it. I haven't checked youtube either.

David Brin had this sort of thing in his SciFi book "Earth". One of the characters had a laser system that could detect slight differences in the wing frequencies of regular and killer bees and would zap the bad ones. I wonder if that's where these guys go the idea.

I have no idea why you think mosquito zapping is going to far.