Mosquitoes, Meet Laser. Laser, Mosquito.

In an attempt to ward off the 'winter blues' I started to think about what I was going to do this coming summer. Should I go camping for a week? Maybe have a series of barbeques and pool parties? Or should I just pull out a lawn chair and waste my days away on my deck? Yeah, that's all fine-and-dandy right up until I started to recall the smell of mosquito repellent and having to constantly move around to avoid getting eaten alive.

Freaking mosquitos.

Then I got to thinking.. what harm would it do to destroy every single mosquito in the world? On one hand, you always hear 'scientists' talking about each living being being part of a fragile ecosystem and BLAH BLAH BLAH... and on the other hand, mosquitoes are terrible people. After doing some research (see: Google), it appears that it really wouldn't hurt the world too bad, and as a matter of fact, the world may be better off without mosquitoes! Just check out this link for evidence if you're skeptical.

Of course there is always going to be opposition to such a move, but I'm guessing those people don't like fun and probably make babies cry. (It actually took me several searches to find any opposition to killing every mosquito in the world.)

A world without Mosquitoes? Now THAT is paradise. Sure, some other insect may step up and take its place, but that's a small price to pay to keep those bastards from buzzing in my ear at night. But how in the world would you go about destroying at least a quadrillion (yeah, 1 followed by 15 zeros) mosquitoes?

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you: the Mosquito Laser!

Technically, the device to the left is called a 'photonic fence' (which actually sounds cooler than 'laser', if that is possible), and it uses a myriad of 'household' components, along with some specialized software, to search for and destroy any mosquitoes that come in its path. Put together an old Dell computer, some lenses, mirrors, and a Blu-ray laser, and you have a relatively deadly weapon (relative to a 2mm tall life-form).

While still a prototype, it's effectiveness is surprising (from Wikipedia): "According to Nathan Myhrvold, co-founder of Intellectual Ventures, the Photonic Fence can kill up to 50 to 100 mosquitoes a second, at a maximum range of 100 ft. Myhrvold claims that the laser would be able to shoot down billions of mosquitoes a night." Add to that the fact that it can rapidly differentiate between mosquitoes and other insects (I still say kill ALL bugs) by wing speed alone, and you have the beginning of the end for those pesky blood-sucking insects. I'm not going to list all of the other specifics, but if you want more information on how this works, go to Wikipedia.

While it isn't quite ready for mass production, Intellectual Ventures estimates that it could be manufactured for $50 a unit once the design is finalized. Critics are whining about it probably not being as effective in the real world, but screw them.. it's a freaking MOSQUITO KILLING DEATH STAR!

Wanna see this puppy in action? Yeah, I thought so:

(sources: Wikipedia, Intellectual Ventures, SciGuy Blog)