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Advancements with metamaterials could lead to invisibility
August 14, 2008
Invisibility, a power we all wish for, may be possible with breakthroughs from the University of California, Berkeley. Scientist at the University of California has engineered 3-D materials that are able to reverse the direction of both visible and near-infrared light.
This achievement could aid in the development of higher resolution optical imaging, nanocircuits for high-powered computers, and devices that could make objects invisible to the human eye.
These breakthroughs have come with the development of metamaterials, which are able to change the way light normally behaves. The key component of this is that this material has a negative refraction. This differs from natural material, which have a positive refraction; a measure of how electromagnetic waves are bent when moving across mediums.
In order to create an illusion of invisibility, the material must be able to curve light completely around an object. For this same material to be used in optical microscopes, the resolution of the microscope must be smaller than the wavelength of light.
In a news story released by the university, Professor Xiang Zhang, of the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center, discusses the difference between the previously developed 2-D metamaterials.
"What we have done is take two very different approaches to the challenge of creating bulk metamaterials that can exhibit negative refraction in optical frequencies," Zhang explains. "Both bring us a major step closer to the development of practical applications for metamaterials."
As the metamaterials being developed are constructed of metal and are fragile, the researchers are aware that the development and mass production of devices used for invisibility may not be possible in the near future. Researchers, however, see their achievements as a major step in the search for such devices.
The National Science Foundation helped support the research of both metamaterials.
Posted by Melissa D'Amico on August 14, 2008 | Comments (0)
