A recent research explains how Saharan silver ants use their shiny hair to reflect sun rays. It has been conducted through the collaboration between the University of Zurich and the University of Washington.

According to the leader of the study group, Assistant Professor Nanfang Yu, the findings could assist engineers in developing new cooling systems, on the basis of the ants' physiological peculiarities.

The silver ants that live in the Sahara deserts are the only living creatures that have managed to survive the harsh weather conditions. The insects' physical abilities have amazed researchers and they have conducted a study in order to identify the factors that make the species heat resistant.

These tiny insects have managed to survive at temperatures of 150 degrees Fahrenheit without any negative effects.

Dr. Yu observed the behavior of the silver ants for many days in extremely hot temperatures. The task required a lot of patience, particularly because he had to manually remove the outer hairs of the ants.

Yu and his colleagues used electron microscopy to see the triangular structure of the hairs. According to Dr. Yu, there are two effects; first is in the shorter wavelengths of the solar radiation spectrum, and second in the longer wavelength range of the thermal radiative spectrum.

As per Yu, "In the solar spectrum, which is shorter wavelengths, the hairs scatter light very strongly. These hairs have triangular cross-sections with three flat facets, and those facets create an effect called total internal reflection, which helps increase the scattering efficiency for the solar light".