bugzapper
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Bug-zapping laser will only kill bad insects
There are good insects, and then there are bad bugs. And the folks at Seattle-based Intellectual Ventures Lab (IVL) have been working on a device that will only kill pests and leave the others unharmed. It's called the Photonic Fence, and has been in development as early as 2009, but according to a Wired report, it's recently been "installed on a US Department of Agriculture site in the state for its first real-world test." If all goes well, IVL plans to market the Fence to farmers who need to protect their crops from pests.
Bug-zapping lightsaber built in minutes, ready to fry pests
Simulated Jedi training not passing muster? Something more firmly grounded in reality might fit the bill. Hack a Day's bug zapping lightsaber, for instance, is suitably real -- and what it lacks in actual lasers it makes up for in insect annihilation. As the amalgamation of a Star Wars toy and an electrified bug racket, the zapper saber isn't exactly a looker -- two layers of metal mesh wrap awkwardly around the toy's telescoping blade, secured only by electrical tape and the sheer will of the force. All told, the contraption was constructed in roughly 20 minutes and Hack a Day reckons that more elaborate ones can be crafted with a tad more time and materials. Head past the break to catch the build process in motion.
