March 25, 2009 -- When the mercury drops, farmers may soon have a new tool to protect their valuable crops. Adapting technology originally developed to detect and identify aircraft, the tech company Raytheon has developed a device that delivers radar waves to stop crops from freezing. "This is essentially a radar that doesn't detect anything," said Larry Faria, a project manager who helped develop the Tempwave crop warming system. "Tempwave delivers energy to the crops, which is absorbed, and freezing is prevented." Currently farmers have several options to protect crops like apples, oranges and other fruit. Large fans can mix warm air across the crops. Sprinkler systems can surround fruit with a protective layer of ice. As a last resort farmers can start bonfires and then circulate the hot air past freezing crops to prevent individual cells in the fruit from freezing and bursting. Related Content:
To test the Tempwave's effectiveness at warming crops, Raytheon, working with a large citrus grower, Paramount Citrus, recently tested the Tempwave system on a quarter acre plot of naval oranges near Visalia, Calif. During the course of several nights the temperature in the orange grove dropped to 28 degrees Fahrenheit. Raytheon's team placed one Tempwave antenna, about 30 feet tall and bulb-shaped, on each corner of the four acre plot and let them run through the night. Without any system to warm the fruit, the oranges would have frozen and become unsellable. The naval oranges made it thought the night unscathed. Each of the four antennae emit low powered radar waves tuned specifically to water molecules. Much like a microwave, the radar waves cause water molecules to vibrate and heat up just enough to keep them from freezing. The radio waves are relatively low energy are completely safe for humans to work around, says Faria. "We aren't trying to keep the fruit at room temperature here," said Faria. "We are just trying to shine enough energy on them so they don't freeze." This winter's test was small scale. In a full-scale system one antenna would provide enough energy to heat one acre, instead of four antenna for one-fourth an acre. Get More NewsMouse Cloned From Long-Frozen CellResearchers create a mouse from a long-frozen cell. Will the mammoth be next?'Bubble' Could Protect AstronautsScientists say a "bubble" around a Mars-bound spaceship could protect astronauts.Big Reduction of Snowmobiles in Yellowstone ProposedA new plan would cut snowmobile use by 40 percent in Yellowstone.Microbes: Fuel of the Future?A reddish South American microbe is literally breathing fuel, say scientists.DNA Links Remains to Steve FossetDNA tests on two bones found in California confirm they are those of Steve Fossett.Women Carry More Bacteria Than MenSome bacteria prefer women, suggests a new study. But why?Ancient 'Water Monster' Facing ExtinctionA foot-long salamander that was a key part of Aztec legend is threatened by extinction.Grand Canyon's Youth ConfirmedThe Grand Canyon is millions of years younger than previously thought, argue geologists.My Take: E-Voting Not User FriendlyOpinion: Electronic voting machines don't always capture the intent of voters.SLIDE SHOW: Landscapes of TerrorWhat makes a place feel scary? There are scientific explanations.At 40, Brain and Body SlowThe part of the brain in charge of motion starts a gradual slide in middle age.Spiders, Scorpions Among World's Oldest CreaturesMany creepy crawlies have been on Earth much longer than previously believed.Blood-Sucking Vampire Bats Sing DuetsWhite-winged vampire bats "harmonize" with separated roost mates. |
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