OLYMPUS TECHNOZONE Vol.65 2005-11
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Audiences love the endoscope demonstration,
which provides fascinating views of the internal organs of the
sea-firefly (Vargula hilgendorfii).
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| Olympus Waku Waku Project staff explain how an endoscope
works. The IPLEX industrial endoscope is used to see places that are normally
hidden, such as inside water pipes or in ceiling cavities. |
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| Why do sea-fireflies glow? People are always very curious about the light produced by sea-fireflies or luminescent plankton. They want to know how the light is produced, and why. |
In addition to medical endoscopes, Olympus also
manufactures industrial endoscopes. We sometimes use these in our demonstrations.
On one occasion, the children were really impressed when we used an endoscope
to show them piles of dust trapped in the ceiling cavity.
Yes. Children would love something like that.
I hope you'll consider buying one of our endoscopes. [Laughs] But
it would probably be difficult to design an endoscope experiment that would
impress 1,000 people at the same time.
We could project the endoscope image onto a large screen.
That would work. Microscope images could also be shown through a
projector. We have become adept at using bioluminescence in our project.
We catch sea-fireflies and use them to show the children how animals can produce
light. And we've discovered a way to stimulate them without causing them
to
die. They really glow brightly. Our method has been so successful that we
can keep the sea-fireflies alive in a tank so they can perform in the next show,
too. We always get a huge round of applause when the sea-fireflies start
to
glow in a darkened classroom. That pleases every audience.
I've heard that in times of emergency, such as during the war,
there were plans to seal them in capsules for use as lighting.
The sea-firefly team have become more ambitious, and the next goal
is to use luminescent squid. We went to Toyama in late April. These squid all
start glowing when they're caught in fishing nets.
The boats go out at about three in the morning, don't they?
Yes. Indeed. We got up at two and sailed at three. We were aware
of a mysterious blue light, but we couldn't see as much as we expected. The
fishing boats were too far away from our sightseeing vessel. We hoped to see
and eat luminescent squid and see mirages, but things did not go according
to plan. So we visited a museum where they are doing experiments with luminescent
squid, and then we came back to Tokyo. It's difficult to keep squid in captivity,
so it's unlikely that we will be able to use them as a Waku Waku Project theme.
The squids' light is produced by bacteria on their skin. It's the bacteria
that glow. Bacteria can be cultured, so that may be the answer. There is a
possibility.
Years ago, I used to buy luminescent squid and put them in a cupboard
or the refrigerator. I would wait until dark and then open the doors to see the squid light up.
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