Mosquito
Malaria
, dengue fever and the
recently much-discussed, Zika virus, are only a
few of the life-threatening diseases that pesky
mosquitoes have a hand in spreading to humans.
To curb the number of these fly ing di sease
incubators, we have classically employed the use
of an eclectic selection of creative contraptions.
From the basic mosquito glue trap to the more
systematic annihilation of these insects by means
of pesticides and genetically modified mosquitoes
that are unable to reproduce, we’ve tried them
all. Extermination has, however, reached a new
level of innovation – laser zapping. That’s right,
light sabers are not only limited to fighting galactic
wars.
Two companies have made it their mission to
destroy mosquitoes efficiently and with extra style
points. The setup is composed of photonic fences
that are tasked with detecting and locating
mosquitoes. Functioning like radars, infra- red
signals are altered when an object crosses the
fence, triggering detection. A low-energy laser is
then shot toward the target to further analyse the
size, shape, speed and wing-batting frequency for
further confirmation of a mosquito. The system is
precise enough to distinguish mosquitoes by their
gender – only female mosquitoes bite. Female
mosquitoes are also larger in size with lower wing-
batting frequency. Once identified, the system
shoots a high-energy laser that eliminates the
wings.
Instead of outright killing them, the laser only
burns off their wings. While small and seemingly
squishy to humans, mosquitoes are actually
protected with a hard exoskeleton made of chitin,
a long chain of polysaccharides that is made of
the same material characteristic to that of the
exoskeletons of crustaceans. A very powerful laser
would be required to penetrate this outer layer of
protection, neither efficient nor safe. Alternatively,
a much lower powered infra-red laser is sufficient
to vaporise fragile mosquito wings, which has the
added benefit of being invisible to the naked eye.
Scientists may have finally found a viable
so l ut i on fo r mosqu i to - t ransduced d i sease
outbreaks endemic to developing countries,
討
厭的蚊子傳播許多威脅人類生命的疾病，其中包
括瘧疾、登革熱以及近期熱話的茲卡病毒。我們出盡法寶
克制這些會飛的疾病孵化器，用過的方法五花八門，有基本
的蚊子膠黏陷阱，也有系統性的滅蟲手段，如殺蟲劑、不育
的轉基因蚊子等等，創意不斷，最近更發展到一個新水平，
以激光擊殺蚊子。激光劍已不再侷限於銀河格鬥！
有兩家公司致力以高效率、高格調的方式來消滅蚊蟲。
他們的設計包括能夠探測蚊蟲位置的光子網，功能類似雷
達。當有物體進入光網時，紅外線信號就會改變，觸動系
統，發出低能量激光分析目標的大小、形狀、速度和翅膀拍
Further Reading
延伸閱讀
Ross, P. E., Laser Bug Zapper Inches to Market (2015). IEEE Spectrum.
激光殺牠死
激光
死
