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Environment

Foam made from algae and tree bark acts as good forest camouflage

A camouflage system made using algae and tree bark can hide objects from both visible and infrared light

By Alex Wilkins

3 March 2022

foam

A photograph of the patterned foam

Laaksonen etal. (2022)

Camouflage made from biodegradable foams of algae and cellulose derived from wood pulp or tree bark could make objects in forests difficult to spot with visible and infrared light.

Full spectrum cameras can detect a wide range of wavelengths of light, so it is no longer good enough for camouflage to conceal objects in the visible part of the spectrum alone.

Päivi Laaksonen at the Häme University of Applied Sciences, Finland, and her colleagues combined the insulating properties of a cellulose-based foam with…

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