Self-destructing Glider Will Revolutionize Spying

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  via New Scientist

  Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have just announced that they've created gliders made out of polymer that dissolve in the sunlight. Why, you might ask? So spies and soldiers can infiltrate enemy camps and drop surveillance mechanisms without leaving a trace. 

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• 
  via Giphy

  Paul Kohl, the designer of the gliders, said that he and his team started out by making small sensors for the government, like microphones and cameras, that could be spread out across a battlefield and used to collect information. "But you don't want anyone to discover it and take it apart and see how it works," Kohl said. So they invented a polymer that dissolves from sunlight, artificial light, or even a small light placed inside the device to trigger self-destruction. All that will be left behind is a slight smell. 

• 
  via Futurism

  The gliders the team has build have a six-foot wingspan and can carry up to 2.2 pounds, which is more than enough for small sensors. The glider would have to travel in the darkness of the nighttime to avoid being dissolved in the daylight. 

• 
  via Giphy

  Many polymers break down slowly, so Kohl had to create a polymer that would break down as soon as the material is in contact with natural or artificial light. The polymer they used is based on a chemical called aldehyde and other additives that can make a structure that is solid, like a glider, or flexible, like a parachute. 

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• 
  via Lab Manager

  Scientists have been attempting to make something self-destructing like this for years, so Kohl's invention of a rapidly dissolving polymer could be the beginning of many more new innovations. We're keeping our eyes peeled. 

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