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Full-Size Invisibility Cloak Now Possible
Scientists from the University of Central Florida have created the first large-area metamaterial (cloaking material) for the visible-light spectral range*.
(Negative-index metamaterial (11 layers)
transferred to a glass substrate by nano transfer
printing (insert: enlarged view))
UCF assistant professor Debashis Chanda and fellow optical and nanotech experts were able to achieve visible-light cloaking over a large area by using a multilayer 3-D open-mesh (fishnet) metamaterial to control the material’s refractive index** and thus control bending of light.To create the material, they used a nanotransfer printing technique that creates metal/dielectric composite films. These are stacked in a 3-D architecture to achieve nanoscale patterns for operation in the visible spectral range. Control of electromagnetic resonances over the 3-D space by structural manipulation allows precise control over propagation of light.
Everyone thinks of Harry Potter in this context, but I think about Ray Cummings. In his excellent 1931 novel Brigands of the Moon, he writes about an invisible cloak:
The invisible cloak. We laid it on my grid, and I adjusted its mechanism. I donned it and drew its hood, and threw on its current."All right, Anita?"
"Yes"
"Can you see me?"
"No." (Read more about Ray Cummings' invisible cloak)
From a href="http://www.kurzweilai.net/how-to-create-a-large-area-visible-light-invisibility-cloak" target="_blank">Kurzweil AI.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/8/2014)
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