Why the Navy wants to harness the piercing noise of cicadas

The small bug with the big sound could provide insight into new underwater technology

Cicada
(Image credit: iStockPhoto)

In addition to benefiting plants and serving as a debatably delectable source of nutrition, the Brood II cicada, with its signature, piercing noise, may hold the key to new naval technology.

At least that's what one U.S. Navy research team has theorized. They have been studying how cicadas make that annoying sound, and trying to determine whether a man-made device based on that natural mechanism could be used to develop better underwater tools of communication.

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.