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US Military Eyes the Glow of Fireflies

Posted by samzenpus on from the get-some-glowing dept.

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.'"

24 of 98 comments (clear)

  1. Just cut out the middle man... by Deathnerd · · Score: 2, Funny

    And give us glow-in-the-dark soldiers!

    1. Re:Just cut out the middle man... by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 4, Funny

      LOL Gay Bomb.

  2. Re:Since when is the military "green"? by caladine · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I take it you haven't touched your CFLs/Fluorescents or LEDs in a while. Both generate heat, it's just considerably less than traditional incandescents.

  3. Your tax dollars at work, sposorng the next fad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Just as battleships were hot, then nukes were hot, then mind-reading and mind-control was hot, then IT was hot, now biotech and robotics are hot.

    Lotsa money will go in on "strategic" grounds, and who will get what will, as usual, depend on how well connected they were before they left the army.

    Welcome to the world of MIC. Want a piece of the pie too? Then join the service.

    Would you like to know more?

    1. Re:Your tax dollars at work, sposorng the next fad by Sir_Lewk · · Score: 5, Insightful

      now biotech and robotics are hot.

      You know, of all the things the military could be spending money on, I really can't bring myself to complain about this... Funding science is pretty much the only nearly universally accepted upside to having a military.

      --
      "linux is just DOS with a UNIX like syntax" -- Galactic Dominator (944134)
    2. Re:Your tax dollars at work, sposorng the next fad by roman_mir · · Score: 2, Insightful

      ah, science, military style, what proportion of orange juice needs to be added to gasoline to make sure that the best results are obtained to burn people alive? They already figured that out of-course and found better additives than orange juice too, something glycerin based I suppose. Pulling rocks into space to drop them on heads of people who wear turbans with best precision, that's the more current stuff, isn't it?

      --
      You can't handle the truth.
  4. Re:See through dirty wind by catbutt · · Score: 2, Informative

    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.

  5. The Office of Naval research has done this before by The_mad_linguist · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Back in the 1950s Johns Hopkins offered a penny a piece for each live firefly you gave them. Lots of kids got pocket money, but the population noticeably dropped for the next couple of years.

  6. See landing makers through dust? by Rejemy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    By the time the rotors are kicking up dust from the landing area, isn't it a little late to be looking down at landing markers anyway?

    1. Re:See landing makers through dust? by SheeEttin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Only if it's a single helicopter. If you've got several choppers coming and going in quick succession, then it could be a problem.
      Although how biodegradable landing markers help visibility in clouds of dirt and dust is beyond me...

  7. They've researched bioluminescence before by Plazmid · · Score: 4, Interesting

    One of the reasons bioluminescence gets researched by the military so much is because bioluminescent plankton create flashes of light that interfere with submarine laser communication systems. As plankton and submarine laser communication systems like to use wavelengths of light that transmit furthest in water(blue-green).

  8. Cheap solution: Kids in Iowa by RyoShin · · Score: 2, Interesting

    When I was a kid, we'd capture fireflies and put them in empty soda bottles. When we wanted them to light up, we'd shake the bottle real hard. I think the army can handle that.

    One check please.

  9. Re:The Office of Naval research has done this befo by grcumb · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Back in the 1950s Johns Hopkins offered a penny a piece for each live firefly you gave them. Lots of kids got pocket money, but the population noticeably dropped for the next couple of years.

    They've not only researched it, they've used it in combat. I'm afraid I don't have an online reference, but I recall reading in a National Geographic magazine in the late 70s or early 80s that Japanese and Allied officers used bioluminescent plankton and mold to read maps and documents in the Pacific theatre during WWII.

    --
    Crumb's Corollary: Never bring a knife to a bun fight.
  10. Dont let peta know :P by neo0983 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Dont let Peta find out about this but fireflies in a glass jar work fairly well and I am sure are far cheaper than researching how they do it.

  11. Fireflies by siride · · Score: 3, Funny

    Would this just attract a bunch of pubescent, emo girls? They could be more dangerous than terrorists.

  12. Re:The Office of Naval research has done this befo by pspahn · · Score: 2, Funny

    Sounds to me like a good way to get your battleship sunk by an enemy that had access to lightbulbs.

    --
    Someone flopped a steamer in the gene pool.
  13. Re:Cylumes by acnicklas · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The military has them up to about three feet. Possibly larger, but those are the biggest I've personally used.

  14. Re:See through dirty wind by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    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.

  15. Re:You are so fucking stupid. by trum4n · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Current landing markers do not light up. They are basically colored sand bags.

  16. Re:See through dirty wind by PitaBred · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Even better, it's not visible without vision enhancing equipment, so it won't draw attention to the soldier using it.

    --
    My blog. Good stuff (when I remember to update it). Read it.
  17. time to cheap out by ILuvRamen · · Score: 4, Funny

    Maybe I'm overthinking this but wouldn't it be A LOT cheaper on the research budget if they just develop a shatter resistant hampster ball that they can fill with actual fireflies? Then they could drop that out and make a landing zone marker with it.

    --
    Google's Super Secret Search Algorithm: SELECT @search_results FROM internet WHERE @search_results = 'good'
  18. Mod Down This Is A Troll by tirefire · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Hey you know what else saves the lives of our beloved GIs?

    Not fighting optional wars. (Rimshot)

  19. Re:See through dirty wind by TheRaven64 · · Score: 2, Informative
    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.
    --
    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  20. Re:See through dirty wind by RichiH · · Score: 3, Informative

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