US Military Eyes the Glow of Fireflies

GarryFre writes "According to the AP: 'Someday, the secrets of fireflies or glowing sea plankton could save an American soldier in battle, a Navy SEAL on a dive, or a military pilot landing after a mission. That's the hope behind a growing field of military-sponsored research into bioluminescence, a phenomenon that's under the microscope in laboratories around the country. This phenomenon is noteworthy because this produces light without wasting energy because it does not generate any heat. A possible military use of bio-luminescence would be creating biodegradable landing zone markers that helicopters can spot even as wind from their rotors kicks up dirt.'"

Comments

Re:See through dirty wind

[catbutt]

That was never implied. All that was implied was that it could be a more convenient and biodegradable that other ways of putting luminous markers. As for seeing through the dust, it helps because it is luminous....doesn't matter that it is biological.

Re:See through dirty wind

[Anonymous Coward]

Also mentioned in TFA was that they want to modify the proteins to emit far red infrared. This spectrum of light has the capability to penetrate dust and smoke.

Re:See through dirty wind

[TheRaven64]

Existing landing lights can be seen through dust, that's not the problem. There are existing bioluminescent lights (at least in labs, probably not in military deployment), but in spite of their efficiency the overall output is quite low. They are two independent sets of constraints:

1. The light must be bright enough to penetrate a certain amount of dust.
2. The light must be biodegradable.

Re:See through dirty wind

[RichiH]

Unless the enemy cheats and uses the US-exclusive infra-red spectrum.