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Deciviel
Captain
Joined: 27 Sep 2002
Posts: 508
Location: Joe's Garage
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 Sat May 27, 2006 9:06 pm Invisibility cloak not so far out, scientists say |
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| Quote: | Invisibility cloak not so far out, scientists say
Exotic materials could steer light, radiation around objects
BY ANDREW BRIDGES
Associated Press
WASHINGTON � The key to creating a Harry Potter-like invisibility cloak lies in man-made materials unlike any in nature or the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, researchers say.
They're laying out a blueprint for turning science fiction into reality. And they say that, in theory, nothing's stopping them from making such a cloak.
Well, almost nothing: They still need to perfect the manufacture of those exotic materials with an ability to steer light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation around a cloaked object, rendering it as invisible as something tucked into a hole in space.
"Is it science fiction? Well, it's theory and that already is not science fiction. It's theoretically possible to do all these Harry Potter things, but what's standing in the way is our engineering capabilities," said John Pendry, a physicist at the Imperial College London. Details of the study, which Pendry co-wrote, appear in Thursday's online edition of the journal Science.
Scientists not involved in the work said it presents a solid case for making invisibility an attainable goal.
"This is very interesting science and a very interesting idea, and it is supported on a great mathematical and physical basis," said Nader Engheta, a professor of electrical and systems engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. Engheta has done his own work on invisibility using novel materials called metamaterials.
Pendry and his co-authors also propose using metamaterials because they can be tuned to bend electromagnetic radiation � radio waves and visible light, for example � in any direction.
A cloak made of those materials, with a structure designed down to the submicroscopic scale, would neither reflect light nor cast a shadow.
Instead, like a river streaming around a smooth boulder, light and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation would strike the cloak and simply flow around it, continuing on as if it never bumped up against an obstacle.
That would give an onlooker the apparent ability to peer right through the cloak, with everything tucked inside concealed from view.
Such a cloak does not exist, but early versions that could mask microwaves and other forms of electromagnetic radiation could be as close as 18 months away, Pendry said.
Click here to find out more! |
http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/14669512.htm
Interesting to say the least.
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"Wheeee. Now say 'nuclear wessels'."
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webtaz99
Commodore
Joined: 13 Nov 2003
Posts: 1229
Location: The Other Side
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| Tue May 30, 2006 7:59 am |
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I can see how this would work for given frequency and its harmonics, but I don't see how it could work in a broader sense. It seems to me that there must be certain frequencies which the "metamaterials" would absorb or relfect - this is a basic property of atoms and molecules.
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"History is made at night! Character is who you are in the dark." (Lord John Whorfin)
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