An online think tank member and concept designer has been studying the aerodynamics of insect flight; specifically bees and locusts and now he believes has figured out the puzzle which has literally plagued mankind since ancient times. How to stop locust swarms from devastating human civilizations. How so you ask? Mr. Warren Powers has drawn out plans to test a concept of using directional sound waves to control and stop locust storms. In his announcement of the concept Mr. Warren states; It seems to me a reasonable place to begin would be to create a curtain or plane of sound or a sound wall or sound barrier through which the locusts would fly and that wall of sound could be a few feet thick and a couple hundred yards long, a few dozen yards tall. That space would look like a rectangle in the air placed in the path of an oncoming swarm. Yes in concept this could work. But do locust swarms have any rhyme or reason or known shape to them? Hard to say, but I think they do actually, although I would have to study this. I am pretty into swarm theory from an offense and defense standpoint of nature and battlespace AI future of net-centric warfare. If we built a vertical virtual 4D sound wall then as the swarm bunches up, the power level must be increased. What the swarm would do, since we are dealing with an organic evolved creature, which has never dealt with such a sound wall is probably continue rather than evade it. Although they might turn around or mutate the swarms shape or direction due to the bunching up of traffic jam, which would be the same if they encountered an obstacle, a tree, mountain, rock or building and that we know they can do and have evolved to deal with, obstacle avoidance. Now then, we need a secondary unit to close off the sides and backs of the swarm or several such units. And if all hell breaks lose [as if a locust plague is not already nearly there] then those operating such machinery need to be protected too. No one knows for sure if Warren Powers strategy will work, but judging by the laws of physics it appears it is possible and that is good enough a reason to go for it, as everyone knows how devastating Locust Plagues can be. Imagine this in 2006. |
