On Thu, May 1, 2014 at 4:22 AM, <shadow@shadowgard.com> wrote:
Some of you make recall years back when I requested that someone
design an anti-insect (and possibly anti-bird/bullet) laser goizmo
using Traveller rules...

Well, someone has done it in the real world
http://37.media.tumblr.com/747b469aa4b118347ad85e3c66c789e6/tumblr_n2r
hq9dHjH1rhavdko4_r1_500.jpg


(from the Ultrafacts blog: https://www.tumblr.com/follow/ultrafacts )


It seems that the main objections to it working for it's intended purpose (to kill malaria-carrying mosquitoes in Africa) are the high cost - each $50 laser covers only a ~100 foot radius - and need for reliable electrical power. But the per-unit price would like drop once production got going and a small solar panel/battery seems likely to be enough to provide it with power.

Of course, then you would have the problem of people stealing the solar panel/battery unit . . .

But for zapping mosquitoes/gnats on your porch/patio, it appears as if it would work just fine.

Hey! Maybe they could sell them for commercial use, then use the income to install them for anti-malaria use. E.g., the Newman's Own Profit Model. :)

-- 
Richard Aiken

"Never insult anyone by accident."  Robert A. Heinlein
"A word to the wise ain't necessary -- it's the stupid ones that need the advice." - Bill Cosby
"We know a little about a lot of things; just enough to make us dangerous." Dean Winchester