Tom James @ 11-08-2008
The intriguing development of materials that are effectively invisible thanks to a phenomenon called negative refraction continues apace.
This article from a Physorg has further details:
Applications for a metamaterial entail altering how light normally behaves. In the case of invisibility cloaks or shields, the material would need to curve light waves completely around the object like a river flowing around a rock. For optical microscopes to discern individual, living viruses or DNA molecules, the resolution of the microscope must be smaller than the wavelength of light
The theory behind negative refraction seems fairly complex - but it’s interesting to imagine what can be done by “altering how light normally behaves” and the possibility of viewing live viruses is also interesting.
[stories from Physorg and BBC News][image from PhoebeJ on flickr]
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Tomas Martin @ 15-10-2007
A group of mathematicians who previously worked on possible cloaking devices have found the same theory could be equally applied to create things resembling wormholes. The team uses mathematical theory to create ‘metamaterials’ that can bend and curve electromagnetic fields - like bending light to make something appear invisible.
The wormholes they describe aren’t quite the instantaneous transportation portals described by Star Trek or Valve’s new computer game. The light still travels through the metamaterial tube but isn’t detectable outside it, by sight or other methods. Uses for this idea include endoscopic surgery and 3D televisions where all but the end tips of many beams of light are hidden by the wormhole, giving the appearance of a floating image.
[image and link via ScienceDaily, image courtesy of Rochester University]
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