Absolutely brilliant! I love these sorts of posts.Really. Keep them coming, please.
Brent "Mr. Worf" <hellomahog...@gmail.com> writes: > >An Invisibility Cloak Made Of Glass > > >July 27, 2010 > >[ >http://www.photonicsonline.com/article.mvc/An-Invisibility-Cloak-Made-Of-Glass-0001?VNETCOOKIE=NO# >] [Image] > > >From Tolkien's ring of power in The Lord of the Rings to Star Trek's >Romulans, who could make their warships disappear from view, from Harry >Potter's magical cloak to the garment that makes players vanish in the >video game classic "Dungeons and Dragons, the power to turn someone or >something invisible has fascinated mankind. But who ever thought that a >scientist at Michigan Technological University would be serious about >building a working invisibility cloak? > >That's exactly what Elena Semouchkina, an associate professor of >electrical and computer engineering at Michigan Tech, is doing. She has >found ways to use magnetic resonance to capture rays of visible light and >route them around objects, rendering those objects invisible to the human >eye. > >Semouchkina and colleagues at the Pennsylvania State University, where >she is also an adjunct professor, recently reported on their research in >the journal Applied Physics Letters, published by the American Institute >of Physics. Her co-authors were Douglas Werner and Carlo Pantano of Penn >State and George Semouchkin, who works at Michigan Tech and Penn State. > >They describe developing a nonmetallic cloak that uses identical glass >resonators made of chalcogenide glass, a type of dielectric material (one >that does not conduct electricity). In computer simulations, the cloak >made objects hit by infrared waves—approximately one micron or >one-millionth of a meter long—disappear from view. > >Earlier attempts by other researchers used metal rings and wires. "Ours >is the first to do the cloaking of cylindrical objects with glass," >Semouchkina said. > >Her invisibility cloak uses metamaterials, which are artificial materials >having properties that do not exist in nature, made of tiny glass >resonators arranged in a concentric pattern in the shape of a cylinder. >The "spokes" of the concentric configuration produce the magnetic >resonance required to bend light waves around an object, making it >invisible. > >Metamaterials, which use small resonators instead of atoms or molecules >of natural materials, straddle the boundary between materials science and >electrical engineering. They were named one of the top three physics >discoveries of the decade by the American Physical Society. A new >researcher specializing in metamaterials is joining Michigan Tech's >faculty this fall. > >Semouchkina and her team now are testing an invisibility cloak re-scaled >to work at microwave frequencies and made of ceramic resonators. They're >using Michigan Tech's anechoic chamber, a cave-like compartment in an >Electrical Energy Resources Center lab, lined with highly absorbent >charcoal-gray foam cones. There, antennas transmit and receive >microwaves, which are much longer than infrared light, up to several >centimeters long. They have cloaked metal cylinders two to three inches >in diameter and three to four inches high. > >"Starting from these experiments, we want to move to higher frequencies >and smaller wavelengths," the researcher said. "The most exciting >applications will be at the frequencies of visible light." > >So one day, could the police cloak a swat team or the Army, a tank? "It >is possible in principle, but not at this time," Semouchkina said. > >Her work is supported in part by a grant from the National Science >Foundation. > >Michigan Technological University ([ http://mtu.edu ]mtu.edu) is a >leading public research university developing new technologies and >preparing students to create the future for a prosperous and sustainable >world. Michigan Tech offers more than 130 undergraduate and graduate >degree programs in engineering; forest resources; computing; technology; >business; economics; natural, physical and environmental sciences; arts; >humanities; and social sciences. > >SOURCE: Michigan Technological University > > > >-- >Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! >Mahogany at: [ >http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ >]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ > > > > >[ mailto:hellomahog...@gmail.com?subject=an Invisibility Cloak Made Of >Glass ] Reply to sender | [ mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com?subject=an >Invisibility Cloak Made Of Glass ] Reply to group | [ >http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJycW5ncjhmBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE1MTYxMDYwBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAzNDgyNwRtc2dJZAM0ODc4MQRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNycGx5BHN0aW1lAzEyODA5NzQ1OTg-?act=reply&messageNum=48781 >]Reply via web post | [ >http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJmYTJxMzFuBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE1MTYxMDYwBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAzNDgyNwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNudHBjBHN0aW1lAzEyODA5NzQ1OTg- >]Start a New Topic [ >http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/message/48781;_ylc=X3oDMTM3dWg4ZmsxBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE1MTYxMDYwBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAzNDgyNwRtc2dJZAM0ODc4MQRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawN2dHBjBHN0aW1lAzEyODA5NzQ1OTgEdHBjSWQDNDg3ODE- >]Messages in this topic >(1) >Recent Activity: >[ >http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2;_ylc=X3oDMTJmajlpOWM2BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE1MTYxMDYwBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAzNDgyNwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzEyODA5NzQ1OTg- >]Visit Your Group >Post your SciFiNoir Profile at >[ >http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/app/peoplemap2/entry/add?fmvn=map >]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/app/peoplemap2/entry/add?fmvn=map >
