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.'"

Just cut out the middle man...

[Deathnerd]

And give us glow-in-the-dark soldiers!

Light Without Heat?

[Anonymous Coward]

Doesn't that violate some law of physics?

Fireflies

[siride]

Would this just attract a bunch of pubescent, emo girls? They could be more dangerous than terrorists.

Re:The Office of Naval research has done this befo

[pspahn]

Sounds to me like a good way to get your battleship sunk by an enemy that had access to lightbulbs.

Re:Just cut out the middle man...

[Ethanol-fueled]

LOL Gay Bomb. [wikipedia.org]

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.