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LEDs Trick Fireflies into Performing a Synchronized Light Show

See a sea of lightning bugs orchestrated into a stunning performance.

Photo by Xenmate

Each summer, fireflies flood Thailand's mangrove forests with ephemeral yellow light. Where some people see natural beauty, artists Robin Meier and André Gwerder saw an opportutiny. In an experiment expressly designed to "question the idea of free will," the duo set a few firefly-colored LED lights to flash on and off at regular intervals. In the resulting film, entitled Synchronicity (Thailand), the fireflies begin to respond in kind, their bioluminescence flashing in synchronocity. It's a beautiful use of technology, one that sheds light on the mysterious patterns of the natural world.

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The show is reminiscent of Duke Riley's Fly By Night, which saw the artist strap LEDs to 3,000 pigeons soaring over the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Just as it is fascinating to watch birds' flight paths illuminated in the night sky, seeing the fireflies flash all at once is a spectacle to behold. This past spring, the experiment became an installation Wood Street Galleries in Pittsburgh, in which live fireflies and crickets would respond to lights and a pendulum set up by the artists. Watch a teaser of the full film below:

Synchronicity (Thailand) was funded by the 2015 Audemars Piguet Art Commission. See more from Robin Meier and André Gwerder on their websites.

Via Mental Floss

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