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:Since when is the military "green"?

[caladine]

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.

The Office of Naval research has done this before

[The_mad_linguist]

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 researched bioluminescence before

[Plazmid]

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).

Re:Your tax dollars at work, sposorng the next fad

[Sir_Lewk]

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.

Re:The Office of Naval research has done this befo

[grcumb]

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.

Re:See landing makers through dust?

[SheeEttin]

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...

Re:Just cut out the middle man...

[Ethanol-fueled]

LOL Gay Bomb.

time to cheap out

[ILuvRamen]

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.