Slashdot Mirror
Monochromatic Light As a Species-selective Insecticide
An anonymous reader writes: The harmful effects of ultraviolet light have been long known. But now researchers at Tohoku University in Japan claim that visible blue light is also lethal to many insects, possibly even more so than UV, even at reasonable daylight intensities. Moreover, they report that certain species are more sensitive to specific wavelengths: Given the same intensity (3x10^18 photons/sec/m^2), light in the 440-467nm range was far more lethal to fruit flies than light of longer or shorter wavelengths. The wavelength 417nm was three times as effective at killing mosquito larvae than the shorter 404nm light, contradicting the notion that higher-energy photons always cause more damage. The research has wide implications for modeling the effect of natural and manmade environmental changes on insect populations and for selectively controlling populations of certain species.
Of course, these guys won't be happy, but hey, you can't please everyone all the time.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
Actually, what you need to use is a particle accelerator to create a proton stream that will eliminate the pests.
Just remember, don't CROSS the streams.
This sounds like something that evolution would beat-out in two years flat. Visible light harming members of a population differently. . . how many generations do you think it would take?
That's surprisingly little energy. Blue light is that band about 2,7 eV per electron, so 2,7 * 3e18 = 8,1e18 eV/s/m^2 = 1.3 W/m^2. If you wanted to generate that much via a LED bulb with an external quantum efficiency of 20% then it'd take only 6,5 watts.
Is it really possible that a little 6,5W blue LED bulb could kill all the fruit flies in a square meter box - are insects really that sensitive to light? That would be amazing. Greenhouses that use supplimental lighting could fine-tune their frequencies to kill off particular pests pretty darn easily. A grower with heavy LED light supplimenting uses a couple hundred watts of LED per square meter. I mean, at those levels the right frequencies should be killing bugs on the *undersides* of leaves....
"We consider that six courts and an asylum claim are a rather odd way of returning to Sweden within a month."
if I had to guess the light is probably damaging a particular protein in these species, with fruit flies and mosquitoes being on the more delicate side i suspect this will not work for more solidly built species such as roaches or bedbugs.
Snowden and Manning are heroes.
What about a good ol magnifying glass and some sunlight?
I can imagine that distributors of fresh fruit will start using that type of blue light instead of insecticides. This will be more natural for the food, and also save money. Of course, then the people who work with the fruit will start to have trouble sleeping....
"Of course, then the people who work with the fruit will start to have trouble sleeping...."
That's the LEAST of their problems. Let's add macular degeneration and blindness to that list, shall we? I had to have eye warnings on my LED grow lights because the blue was so intense. It was physically painful to look at the light.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
Can't help wondering about the decline in bee populations and the concurrent rise in the use of CFL/LED lighting and the ubiquitous blue LEDs in our gadgets.
For growers that could be a problem, but for distributors you wouldn't need as strong a light as it would be for the sole purpose of killing bugs.
Apparently several Winnipeg mosquitoes were observed slathering themselves with DEET and lying under the 417 nm to get a little colour on their underbellies.
A researcher who attempted to turn the light off was beaten badly, and is now reporting that several Goliath beetles used in another experiment now appear to be pregnant. Also the cat.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
For the sole purpose of killing bugs, you'd have to get outside of the range of light plants can utilize for photosynthesis. We know that can go from IR to UVA (and possibly UVB) and really it's intensity that matters. You want as much as you can rationally throw at the plant without causing photon bleaching of plant tissues.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
If this really works, then it will make it possible for America to remove all of the GOP in one clean blast. No more creepy crawly things that want to suck your lifeblood out of you and then lie about it.
It would appear that this is about the same wavelength that many plants want. As such, by sweeping over plants with high levels of it for short periods, it might help the plants while at the same time, killing pests.
Way cool.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Finally some worthwhile research being carried out on the planet. Great job, Japan! Forget about those stupid humanoid robots!
Yeah, but the person who discovers the right frequency to kill the mayor will be king of the world. You know, I mean, if we want to kill off the pestilence once and for all...
Dude, are you sure the pain was from the grow lights and not from what you were growing? That stuff has a tendency to make ANY bright light painful. (wink)
So it another UV electrical bug zapper? Instead of shocking them to death, the blue light special uses electricity to burn/nuke them to death.
This isn't surprising, in light of 2008 research that showed that the same blue light dentists use to cure filling material slows the growth of tumors in mice.