Bending Light is the Latest Breakthrough
Jeremy Gutsche — August 12, 2008 — Tech
References: news.bbc
An invisibility cloak seems to reach the viral media every few months. Some of these cloaks have involved simple projectors, while others have involved clever camouflage paint.
This time, researchers at Berkeley have developed an invisibility cloak that makes objects disappear by bending light. The effect is similar to the way that a straw appears bent when dipped into a glass of water.
The researchers have only created their invisibility cloak prototypes on a nano scale, but they believe the technology could be applied on a larger scale - large enough to hide people.
The BBC noted, “Previous efforts have shown this negative refraction effect using microwaves—a wavelength far longer than humans can see. The new materials instead work at wavelengths around those used in the telecommunications industry—much nearer to the visible part of the spectrum.”
In short, real invisibility cloaks might be close on the horizon.
In addition to boosting your shoplifting career, the bending of light could be used to make better microscopes.
The Berkeley research was funded by the U.S. Army Research Office (no surprise there...) and the National Science Foundation’s Nano-Scale Science and Engineering Center.
Here are some more posts about invisibility and camouflage design:
This time, researchers at Berkeley have developed an invisibility cloak that makes objects disappear by bending light. The effect is similar to the way that a straw appears bent when dipped into a glass of water.
The researchers have only created their invisibility cloak prototypes on a nano scale, but they believe the technology could be applied on a larger scale - large enough to hide people.
The BBC noted, “Previous efforts have shown this negative refraction effect using microwaves—a wavelength far longer than humans can see. The new materials instead work at wavelengths around those used in the telecommunications industry—much nearer to the visible part of the spectrum.”
In short, real invisibility cloaks might be close on the horizon.
In addition to boosting your shoplifting career, the bending of light could be used to make better microscopes.
The Berkeley research was funded by the U.S. Army Research Office (no surprise there...) and the National Science Foundation’s Nano-Scale Science and Engineering Center.
Here are some more posts about invisibility and camouflage design:
Trend Themes
1. Bending Light - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop practical applications for bending light technology in telecommunications to improve data transmission and signal quality.
2. Invisibility Cloak - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Explore the use of invisibility cloak technology for surveillance and security purposes, enabling discreet operations and protection.
3. Nano-scale Science and Engineering - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Explore the potential of nano-scale materials and engineering to revolutionize various industries, such as healthcare, electronics, and energy.
Industry Implications
1. Telecommunications - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Integrate bending light technology into telecommunications infrastructure to enhance network capacity and speed, leading to more efficient communication systems.
2. Surveillance and Security - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop advanced invisibility cloak technology for surveillance and security applications, enabling enhanced stealth capabilities and threat detection.
3. Nano-engineering - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Apply nano-scale science and engineering in industries such as healthcare, electronics, and energy to create new materials, devices, and solutions with unprecedented capabilities.
6
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
