Possible approach to Invisibility
In almost all sci-fi shows, there'd be a character or an object that was capable of becoming invisible, cloaking. This is, in theory, possible and there have been many theories of how it can be accomplished, like the one about using EM Flux I posted about a week back.
Anyway, this theory works with light. Basically we see objects because they either reflect or give off light. Obviously if we can stop both, we would not be able to see the object anymore. Just like when you turn off the light in an enclosed room -- no light means no sight. What scientists are proposing is the development of a shielding material that would resonate the same frequency as the light striking it (about the same idea I had for a noise canceller project last sem), hence stopping light from scattering or reflecting. This material would then be used to coat or build the object, resulting in an object that would seem so small that it would be virtually invisible. The problem is how to develop this sheilding for all wavelengths of visible light. Scientists have already done it for certain wavelengths but creating a broad spectrum one is the difficult part.
Well, this method seems promising but there doesn't seem to be a way to turn it on or off easily so it isn't perfect. But if it comes true, we might be finding ourselves wearing No. 4 uniforms that make us invisble in the future. And I bet that would cause lots of problems for guard duty personel.
Click here for the full article.
Anyway, this theory works with light. Basically we see objects because they either reflect or give off light. Obviously if we can stop both, we would not be able to see the object anymore. Just like when you turn off the light in an enclosed room -- no light means no sight. What scientists are proposing is the development of a shielding material that would resonate the same frequency as the light striking it (about the same idea I had for a noise canceller project last sem), hence stopping light from scattering or reflecting. This material would then be used to coat or build the object, resulting in an object that would seem so small that it would be virtually invisible. The problem is how to develop this sheilding for all wavelengths of visible light. Scientists have already done it for certain wavelengths but creating a broad spectrum one is the difficult part.
Well, this method seems promising but there doesn't seem to be a way to turn it on or off easily so it isn't perfect. But if it comes true, we might be finding ourselves wearing No. 4 uniforms that make us invisble in the future. And I bet that would cause lots of problems for guard duty personel.
In popular science fiction, the power of invisibility is readily apparent. Star Trek fans, for example, know that the devious Romulans could make their spaceships suddenly disappear.
But is the idea really so implausible? Not according to new findings by scientists who say they have come up with a way to create cloaking device.
Electronic engineers at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia are researching a device they say could make objects "nearly invisible to an observer." The contrivance works by preventing light from bouncing off the surface of an object, causing the object to appear so small it all but disappears.
Click here for the full article.
posted by CS at 8:20 AM
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