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Video shows first working invisibility cloak


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#1 Reno

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Posted 21 December 2010 - 05:46 AM


It will be great to see a perfected cloak used to stealth drones. Military applications will probably be some of the first uses for such an invention. I could definitely see putting Rods from God up on a cloaked satellite. Besides, a cloaked satellite is harder for china to turn into clouds of space trash.

I love the idea of creating a viable cloaking material. We should be developing the preliminary necessities of space travel. We may not have FTL for another few hundred years, but once it's developed abilities such as stealth and shielding would be very prudent. I'm not saying we're going to get into a space battle if we don't have these abilities, I'm saying why take the chance of having a bad first contact.

Video shows first working invisibility cloak
Can you see it? Researchers at Fractal Antenna Systems have written a new chapter in the science of making things disappears. Their wideband microwave invisibility cloak, first revealed in March 2009, now makes its debut for everyone to see in a new video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_JpMJTJXf28

The video conclusively shows that invisibility science has taken a huge leap with fractal design. Fractals are geometric patterns that have complex structure built from scaled repetition of a simple pattern. Fractals make up the cloak and its 'object' layer, producing a wideband invisibility that slipstreams microwaves around obstacles. The other side appears with good fidelity, without the detectable presence of the obstacle. Although a proof-of-concept of an invisibility cloak was shown in 2006 at Duke University, such non-fractal efforts had limitations. The Duke cloak worked in one narrow band, had many more cloaking layers, possessed a discernable shadow, and required the obstacle to already be hiding behind a mirror. All of those obstacles have been solved using fractals, in grids called fractal metamaterial, as the firm's cloak reveals.

Holy Grail of Cloak Design

Notes the firm's CEO and chief inventor Nathan Cohen: "In 2008, Chinese researchers said it was impossible to make a wideband invisibility cloak. We not only did it, but reduced the number of cloak layers, and, most importantly, made a cloak you can see out of. That means a sensor, for example, can be made to disappear into the background over a wideband, but still be able to see what's outside. These attributes are really the 'holy grail' of cloak designs, and strongly point towards a bright future for invisibility science."

The fractal cloak works at microwaves; radio waves used by cell phones and wireless devices. The technology directly applies to infrared, and with technology advances in nanotechnology, can be made to make visual light invisibility cloaks, although Cohen cautions that it will be many years before visual light invisibility cloaks are perfected. "Other researchers are still hiding objects behind mirrors. What's the point of a cloak if you are already hiding behind a mirror?" asked Cohen.

The firm's cloak also marks the steady and remarkable process of innovation afforded by fractals in antennas and electronics. Oddly, many American antenna researchers have shied away from fractal design, while interest in Asia and Europe bloomed, noted Cohen. However, as recently shown on PBS's NOVA television program, fractals have a great impact on antennas and electronics, and researchers from all continents except Antarctica now boast many dozens of active research programs.

Cohen also believes that success in cloaking science requires a body of diverse knowledge, which in his case drew upon experience as an astronomer, and curiously, as a radio ham operator. "I have a Ph.D. in astrophysics and am a retired college professor. But the experience I gained as a young ham radio operator was invaluable in helping me make knowledge connections to make the cloak work. That's, in part, why my research group did this first, and why we continue to lead in innovation in fractal electronics, both in basic research and application to products."

Fractal Antenna Systems, Inc.

Fractal Antenna Systems, Inc. (http://www.fractenna.com) supplies products for the world's most demanding wireless, and electromagnetic applications. Backed by over three dozen U.S., and international patents, plus dozens of patents pending, Fractal Antenna Systems is the recognized pioneer in fractal technology, with extensive research and field experience over 15 years in business. The company is a privately held and headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA.
Source: Fractal Antenna Systems


source

Edited by Reno, 21 December 2010 - 05:50 AM.


#2 Emma W.

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Posted 21 December 2010 - 03:38 PM

The idea is great and all that but let's face it: such a thing will either remain a concept or it will be far away from perfection.

#3 Reno

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Posted 21 December 2010 - 08:05 PM

The idea is great and all that but let's face it: such a thing will either remain a concept or it will be far away from perfection.


The concept is too tempting for governments to let die, and perfection is a matter of research and development.

It always amazes me how people interpret research experiments. A research experiment is NOT a finished product. It is a proof of concept. Success in research is measured by progress. In this case, researchers just started discussing using metamaterials for shielding objects within the last ten years. That's amazing progress in a field most researchers ten years ago would have considered impossible science fiction.

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#4 Guest_Guille Prandi_*

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Posted 25 May 2011 - 02:26 PM

Nice.

#5 Cuyan

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Posted 23 June 2011 - 11:49 AM

Very cool, can't wait to see the progress on this in a couple of years!

#6 ADVANCESSSS

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Posted 22 June 2014 - 04:49 AM

Indeed it is possible to have a surface like this, it could be made out of advanced cells or maybe nano boxes and it's brain/surface brain would instantly see all vision and emit it in opposite directions and be not detectable by vision.






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