The bombardier beetle's chemical warfare against marauding ants, birds, frogs, and spiders has provided the inspiration for a European effort to design more efficient fire extinguishers, reliable pharmaceutical sprays and fuel-injection engines.
— Bryn Nelson"; Tech_Frontiers_Beetle_080519[i++] = new Array("","Toxic steam","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/080515/080519-Frontiers-Beetle-1-hmed.hmedium.jpg","","Image: illustration of bombardier beetle spraying ant", "", "", "", "", "", "", "Courtesy of Andy McIntosh/Leeds University", "273", "377", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_Frontiers_Beetle_080519[i-1].body = "Toxic steam
With its natural pulse combustion system, the bombardier beetle defends itself by squirting ants and other predators with a high-pressure jet of boiling water and toxins in a rapid-fire series of bursts. The action has been likened to Germany's World War II-era V-1 \"buzz bombs\" because of its pulsing mechanism. "; Tech_Frontiers_Beetle_080519[i++] = new Array("","Unusual defense system","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/080515/080519-Frontiers-Beetle-2-hmed.hmedium.jpg","","Image: bombardier beetle", "", "", "", "", "", "", "Courtesy of Andy McIntosh/Leeds University", "273", "306", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_Frontiers_Beetle_080519[i-1].body = "Unusual defense system
Found mainly in Africa, Asia, and South America, the bombardier beetle owes its unusual defense system to a chemical concoction and \"flash evaporation\" process that results in a high-pressure, rapid-fire series of explosions. Despite the solitary nature of this specimen, the beetles also enjoy considerable safety in numbers. Entomologist Tom Eisner has seen 300 of them clustered together beneath a rock. \"You can put your hand in there and you feel the heat,\" he says. "; Tech_Frontiers_Beetle_080519[i++] = new Array("","Commercial applications","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/080515/080519-Frontiers-Beetle-3-hmed.hmedium.jpg","","Image: Rig based on bombardier beetle", "", "", "", "", "", "", "Courtesy of Andy McIntosh/Leeds University", "266", "423", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_Frontiers_Beetle_080519[i-1].body = "Commercial applications
An experimental rig, based on the bombardier beetle, can shoot out steam and hot water up to 30 times a second, at distances up to 13 feet. The red laser in the middle measures droplet sizes. Constructed by Novid Beheshti at Swedish Biomimetics 3000 UK Ltd, and Andreas Prongidis and Andy McIntosh at Leeds University, the setup has boosted hopes for commercial applications such as fire extinguishers, fuel-injection systems and pharmaceutical nebulizers in at little as 5 years."; Tech_Frontiers_Beetle_080519[i++] = new Array("","Better fire extinguishers ","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "180", "423", "", "", "", "", ""); Tech_Frontiers_Beetle_080519[i-1].body = "Better fire extinguishers
A next-generation fire extinguisher is foremost on the list of applications for a beetle-based pulse combustion system. With some simple adjustments, the experimental rig emitted droplets ranging from a fine mist useful for smothering a fire (similar to the mechanism for automatic fire-suppression systems in some vehicles and buildings) to larger droplets capable of fully extinguishing it. Such versatility could be important for fighting fires in spacecraft, where rapid suppression would be paramount."; // END editorial data