4 ms·

You might be able to create a vortex cannon with enough shear force to rip their wings off.

by jcims 5y ago

taneq 5y ago
After abandoning the laser idea due to the aforementioned “fully automated blindness / house fire machine” issues, I’ve often idly wondered if you could use a phased array of small subwoofers to generate a precisely targeted region of extreme pressure drop. That way you could just instantaneously and explosively decompress the suckers in such a way that’s probably safe for mammals.
- _dain_ 5y ago
  Couldn't that damage the eardrums of someone who stood in the wrong spot?
- nescioquid 5y ago
  That's a fascinating idea! Do you have an idea about the intensity and how "loud" the system would need to be to generate the compression/rarefaction necessary for that effect (or could the Hz be lower than audible threshold)? Also, I'm uncertain what behavior the array would yield (other than maybe expanding the area of effect)? Apologies if my questions are too deep in the well of ignorance to address.
  - taneq 5y ago
    No idea what pressure change over what timescale would be required to actually injure a mosquito, I guess someone will have to torture a bunch of mosquitos for science. The reason to use an array is to precisely control the timing of each speaker so that the sound waves from each of them interfere constructively at a single point. Then by varying the timing you can target that focal point wherever the mosquito is, hopefully without causing the sound to be painfully loud anywhere away from that point.
- usrusr 5y ago
  Domestic freak wave. Interesting idea!
- GuB-42 5y ago
  The wavelength of subwoofers is way too long (meters) for something the size of a mosquito. Mosquitoes are ultrasound-sized. A mosquito destroying phased array of ultrasound transducers may be physically possible but probably even less practical than lasers. If you actually want to create a shock wave, you need something that goes faster than the speed of sound, like high explosives... A lovely idea, but a bit overkill.
  - jcims 5y ago
    A small stoichiometric mixture of oxygen and hydrogen (created from electrolysis) might be able to create a shockwave or vortex with supersonic components for a range of 1-3m.
- jcims 5y ago
  There are a number of DIY instructions for building a phased array ultrasonic manipulator, eg [1]. You might be able to 'tweeze' the offender into a capture apparatus or high voltage deanimator. https://hackaday.com/2021/08/18/phased-array-levitation-is-science-in-action/ https://hackaday.com/2021/08/18/phased-array-levitation-is-s...
  - ecpottinger 5y ago
    Why not the same idea with lasers, if you have an array of low power lasers but they all focus on one 3D location, if you are not at the focus location you will not be exposed to a dangerous laser power. An array of hundred to a thousand low end laser diodes using a an array of mems mirrors to aim the beams will ensure the focus point will fry the bug.
    - jcims 5y ago
      Or just use some optics to create a focal point of one 5W laser thats +/- 1-2ft. Or 200W xD https://youtu.be/WAI7Lu4UFi4 https://youtu.be/WAI7Lu4UFi4
    - taneq 5y ago
      At that point you're deliberately removing the collimation and I'm not sure how much the coherency really adds so you might as well just focus a heat lamp on them. It's still bad if it somehow does end up targeting something delicate or flammable but at least you've gone from a line to a point. Plus a 500W laser is super pricey but you can pick up a 500W heat lamp at the local hardware store. I wonder if anyone's tried it?
  - taneq 5y ago
    Huh, one of the comments even mentions using it to deal with mosquitos. :)
latchkey 5y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BhV-o77RqQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BhV-o77RqQ
- jcims 5y ago
  Dan! Always wanted a tour of his place, I can’t even count the number of times I thought about grabbing an old projection TV to upcycle the fresnel into a solar death ray.

You might be able to create a vortex cannon with enough shear force to rip their wings off.

by jcims 5y ago

You might be able to create a vortex cannon with enough shear force to rip their wings off.

After abandoning the laser idea due to the aforementioned “fully automated blindness / house fire machine” issues, I’ve often idly wondered if you could use a phased array of small subwoofers to generate a precisely targeted region of extreme pressure drop. That way you could just instantaneously and explosively decompress the suckers in such a way that’s probably safe for mammals.

_dain_ 5y ago
Couldn't that damage the eardrums of someone who stood in the wrong spot?
nescioquid 5y ago
That's a fascinating idea! Do you have an idea about the intensity and how "loud" the system would need to be to generate the compression/rarefaction necessary for that effect (or could the Hz be lower than audible threshold)? Also, I'm uncertain what behavior the array would yield (other than maybe expanding the area of effect)? Apologies if my questions are too deep in the well of ignorance to address.
- taneq 5y ago
  No idea what pressure change over what timescale would be required to actually injure a mosquito, I guess someone will have to torture a bunch of mosquitos for science. The reason to use an array is to precisely control the timing of each speaker so that the sound waves from each of them interfere constructively at a single point. Then by varying the timing you can target that focal point wherever the mosquito is, hopefully without causing the sound to be painfully loud anywhere away from that point.
usrusr 5y ago
Domestic freak wave. Interesting idea!
GuB-42 5y ago
The wavelength of subwoofers is way too long (meters) for something the size of a mosquito. Mosquitoes are ultrasound-sized. A mosquito destroying phased array of ultrasound transducers may be physically possible but probably even less practical than lasers. If you actually want to create a shock wave, you need something that goes faster than the speed of sound, like high explosives... A lovely idea, but a bit overkill.
- jcims 5y ago
  A small stoichiometric mixture of oxygen and hydrogen (created from electrolysis) might be able to create a shockwave or vortex with supersonic components for a range of 1-3m.
jcims 5y ago
There are a number of DIY instructions for building a phased array ultrasonic manipulator, eg [1]. You might be able to 'tweeze' the offender into a capture apparatus or high voltage deanimator. https://hackaday.com/2021/08/18/phased-array-levitation-is-science-in-action/ https://hackaday.com/2021/08/18/phased-array-levitation-is-s...
- ecpottinger 5y ago
  Why not the same idea with lasers, if you have an array of low power lasers but they all focus on one 3D location, if you are not at the focus location you will not be exposed to a dangerous laser power. An array of hundred to a thousand low end laser diodes using a an array of mems mirrors to aim the beams will ensure the focus point will fry the bug.
  - jcims 5y ago
    Or just use some optics to create a focal point of one 5W laser thats +/- 1-2ft. Or 200W xD https://youtu.be/WAI7Lu4UFi4 https://youtu.be/WAI7Lu4UFi4
  - taneq 5y ago
    At that point you're deliberately removing the collimation and I'm not sure how much the coherency really adds so you might as well just focus a heat lamp on them. It's still bad if it somehow does end up targeting something delicate or flammable but at least you've gone from a line to a point. Plus a 500W laser is super pricey but you can pick up a 500W heat lamp at the local hardware store. I wonder if anyone's tried it?
- taneq 5y ago
  Huh, one of the comments even mentions using it to deal with mosquitos. :)

latchkey 5y ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BhV-o77RqQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BhV-o77RqQ

jcims 5y ago
Dan! Always wanted a tour of his place, I can’t even count the number of times I thought about grabbing an old projection TV to upcycle the fresnel into a solar death ray.