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How do we make an object invisible? Researchers from TU Wien (Vienna), together with colleagues from Greece and the USA, have now developed a new idea for a cloaking technology. A completely opaque material is irradiated from above with a specific wave pattern – with the effect that light waves from the left can now pass through the material without any obstruction. This surprising result opens up completely new possibilities for active camouflage. The idea can be applied to different kinds of waves, it should work with sound waves just as well as with light waves. Experiments are already in the planning.
[...] "Complex materials such as a sugar cube are opaque, because light waves inside them are scattered multiple times," says Professor Stefan Rotter (TU Wien). "A light wave can enter and exit the object, but will never pass through the medium on a straight line. Instead, it is scattered into all possible directions."
For years many different attempts have been made to outwit this kind of scattering, creating a "cloak of invisibility." Special materials have been worked out, for example, which are able to guide light waves around an object. Alternatively, also experiments have been performed with objects that can emit light by themselves. When an electronic display sends out exactly the same light as it absorbs in the back, it can appear invisible, at least when looked at in the right angle.
At TU Wien a more fundamental approach has now been chosen. "We did not want to reroute the light waves, nor did we want to restore them with additional displays. Our goal was to guide the original light wave through the object, as if the object was not there at all," says Andre Brandstötter, one of the authors of the study. "This sounds strange, but with certain materials and using our special wave technology, it is indeed possible."
[...] More information: Konstantinos G Makris et al. Wave propagation through disordered media without backscattering and intensity variations, Light: Science & Applications (2017). DOI: 10.1038/lsa.2017.35
Just in time. We only have 150 years to perfect this before we make first contact with the Klingons.
(Score: 2) by Justin Case on Wednesday September 13 2017, @09:44PM (7 children)
Hooray! People can finally tour the women's locker room! Joyful days ahead...
Um, is the thing that does the irradiating from above also able to make itself invisible? (Asking for a friend.)
And what does "irradiated" mean? Not harmful I hope. To me of course.
I'm sure my buddy RealDonaldTrump will see a lot of potential here as well.
(Score: 2, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday September 13 2017, @10:40PM
For too long, working-class Americans have been invisible. To the #FakeNews MSM and the failed Washington elites, the working class has been invisible. It was during the Revolution that Andrew Jackson first confronted and defied an arrogant elite. Said "enough, enough" and stood up for the common man. Does that sound familiar? 🇺🇸
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 14 2017, @05:46AM (2 children)
During a power outage, you'll have some splainin' to do.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Thursday September 14 2017, @06:00AM
That's what backup batteries are for.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 14 2017, @10:32AM
Well no, because the lights will go out and it will be dark. Duh.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by maxwell demon on Thursday September 14 2017, @06:00AM (2 children)
Bad news for you: If the light is not absorbed by your body, it will especially not be absorbed by your retina. In other words, you'll be blind, and thus not be able to see those women in the locker room.
If you manage to exclude your retina from this, your retina will be visible, too. Also, just the retina isn't enough because all the light crossing it will just make an impression of incredible brightness, but you'll not be able to see anything, as for that the light passing your retina would have to be restricted to that passing through your lense (through which it also should not pass unaltered, as it is exactly the interaction with the lens and the vitreous body that causes an image to appear on the retina. So your complete eye and a bit of the surrounding tissue needs to be visible for you to be able to see.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 14 2017, @06:13AM (1 child)
Just like in Quake? http://www.quaketerminus.com/quakebible/art-ring.htm [quaketerminus.com]
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Thursday September 14 2017, @06:24AM
Yes, exactly.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.