The Real Alien Ant Farm

Children have been fascinated by ant farms for many decades now (as well as their parents who will quite often use the kids as an excuse to buy one). NASA technology allows us to see the ants in an entirely new and slightly surreal way, born from the problem of sending ants into space to observe their behavior in zero gravity. A standard ant farm with soil or sand would collapse instantly upon takeoff.

So, how do you get the tiny harvester ants with their powerful jaws and tenacious nature up beyond the blue? NASA rose to the problem and their solution was to create the gel that you can see here. Because of its chemical composition it does not collapse during launch. Wouldn’t that happen to the ants too? The answer is no – ants are incredibly resilient and able to withstand the G force of lift off with no problem.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by taliesyn30.


Newest 5
Newest 5 Comments

NASA technology allows us to see the ants in an entirely new and slightly surreal way, born from the problem of sending ants into space to observe their behavior in zero gravity. A standard ant farm with soil or sand would collapse.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
I bought one for my daughter several years back for Xmas. Just as in the standard ant farm, the ants are dead within a couple of months, having lived kind of horrendous looking lives trapped in a strange blueish gel maze.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
If I remember correctly, the gel serves as both their living environment and their food, so rather than moving the sand as they do in typical farms, they just eat to make a tunnel.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Login to comment.




Email This Post to a Friend
"The Real Alien Ant Farm"

Separate multiple emails with a comma. Limit 5.

 

Success! Your email has been sent!

close window
X

This website uses cookies.

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using this website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

I agree
 
Learn More