A butterfly’s way of drinking has inspired scientists to develop a small device that can collect material from the air without a pump or battery.
You might have heard of the ‘butterfly effect’, an idea created by scientist Edward Lorenz which suggests that small changes at the start of a system can lead to huge outcomes later on. Now, a butterfly itself could change the way we monitor the air.
New research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), shows how a butterfly’s way of drinking has led scientists to create a device that could offer a cheaper and simpler way to monitor air pollution, pesticides and infectious diseases.
The idea came from the butterfly’s long mouthpart, called a proboscis, which is uses to drink nectar. Researchers used X-rays to examine it and found a thin layer of liquid can become trapped inside.
As the film gets thinner, it eventually bursts, releasing energy that pushes the remaining liquid through the tube. The process takes milliseconds and doesn’t need a battery or motor.
Across the UK there are over 1,500 air quality monitoring sites which rely on batteries, motors or pumps.
However, after looking at how the butterfly drinks, researchers from the University of China developed a coin-sized device that uses a thin liquid film to capture airborne material. When the film is made to burst, it pushes the sample through small channels towards a testing area.
The device doesn’t need any external power and scientists claim each disposable unit could cost as little as $0.12. They also found it could work in strong airflow, meaning it could be attached to drones to monitor airborne pesticides over farmland.
Researchers also tested the device for the virus that causes Covid-19, finding it was 100 times more sensitive than a conventional air sampler.
As it stands, the technology is still at the research stage and needs further testing before it could be used routinely.
The research can be found in full here.
Image: Gayatri Malhotra/UnSplash
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