Smashing High-speed video on BBC

[Gonodactylus]

Rather than bury information on the upcoming stomatopod high-speed video program at the bottom of the previous thread, I thought I would start a new one. The program called "Animal Camera" airs in the UK on BBC1 at 20:30 on February 11. The stomatopod footage was shot in my lab and provides the best views ever taken of the strike of an Odontodactylus scyllarus including the first time we have seen cavitation produced by a strike. I may be biased, but every time I see this footage, it blows me away.

Roy

 

[dwarfatize]

any chance of a sneak peak?

 

[Gonodactylus]

I'm afraid not. We had to agree not to release any footage until it airs. ALso, we have submitted an article based on this work to a well known journal that also requires that we not release information prior to publication.

I can tell you that the results far exceeded our expectations. The forces measured are probably the strongest ever recorded for an animal this size and the speed of the strike is also the fastest for any animal appendage - in or out of water. Capturing the cavitation produced was a real bonus. It helps explain why the strike is so destructive.

To capture this in high resolution color images speaks to just how far video technology has come in the past few years.

Roy

 

[RogueCorps]

Sounds COOL... I hope we get to see it here.

-R

 

[Isaari]

For those of us who may not see it, is there a way to purchase a copy of this episode?

 

[Gonodactylus]

Probably not until it airs in the U.S. I have no idea when that might be, but the lag between shows appearing in the U.K and elsewhere seems to be dropping.

Roy

 

[dc]

That's not fair to tease us like that!

 

[dwarfatize]

but once it shows you can post it right?

 

[ReefMagic]

Perhaps after it airs in the UK, you can give us some short footage through this site on a thread for us in the US?

 

[word]

hey, that's my birthday!

 

[Gonodactylus]

Barring a breaking news story, the BBC1 stomatopod footage looks like a go. Here is the program listing:

Animal Camera
Wed 11 Feb, 8:30 pm - 9:00 pm 30mins

New series. With the help of the latest technology, Steve Leonard teams up with the world's leading scientists to eavesdrop on animals lives and unveil astonishing new discoveries as they happen.

The latest cameras are revolutionising the way we view the natural world. Miniature cameras take viewers on-board a golden eagle; Ultra-slow motion cameras discover that the fastest animals in the world are not what you would expect; and a big brother stake-out reveals the mysterious lives of cave baboons.

In Animal Camera, the whole planet is under surveillance as spy technology goes wild.

Subtitles Stereo Widescreen


Guess what the fastest animal is?

 

[Preds]

Just watched the programme and must agree that the footage is incredible. The boiling water before the strike was particularly interesting.