It is awesome to hear that the insects have got self defense mechanism. There may be many insects with that feature. But the bombardier beetle has a very advanced defense mechanism. It is an ordinary beetle that exists in all continents except the Antarctica. The bombardier beetle liberates a chemical spray that makes predators run away when it is provoked.
How does the Bombardier Beetle do that?
This 1 centimeter long bombardier beetle stores hydrogen peroxide and hydroquinone in two separate compartments of its abdomen. These two chemicals are released in a reaction chamber and mix with enzymes and it is brought to high temperature, almost near to the boiling point of water. The heat triggers an explosion of these chemicals and sprayed at the other animal. This special feature of bombardier beetle kills ants and frightens frogs.
Inspiration from the Bombardier Beetle
This process inspired the researchers at ETH Zurich. They designed a film that liberates a hot foam when spoiled. It consists of layers of honeycomb like structures which has manganese dioxide or hydrogen peroxide, which are stacked on top of other. The substances combine and liberate a hot foam (up to 180 degrees Fahrenheit) when the film is punctured.
Wendelin Jan Stark, a professor working in the ETH Department of Chemistry says,
"You will notice how impasse the technology is, when you see how beautifully the nature resolves the problems"
The film could be used as a theft and vandalism damper for ATM machines. The researchers have designed a film that contained a blue dye and DNA particles. When it is meddled or tampered, the hot foam and dye are released. The dye makes the money futile and the DNA particles make it easy to track.
At present, anti-theft ATM machines are high-cost and complicated. But it costs only forty dollars per machine to install one square meter of this film and it is very effective too.
Tags: Bombardier beetle defense, bombardier beetle fire, bombardier beetle explosion, anti theft technology inspired by bombardier beetle, ATM anti theft devices, mechanism of bombardier beetle, technology, anti theft technology
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Published: January 21st, 2015
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