Scientists Create New "Invisible" Material

jason

Seanchaí
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Forget the merely invisible, scientists at Columbia Engineering School have created a new material that behaves as if it doesn't even exist, at least when it comes to light. The new material is a nanoscale structure that allows light to pass through as if it was traversing empty space. In very general terms, that means the light does not slow down or "bend" when it exits the material. The discovery could lead to a new generation of highly precise and efficient photonic devices, especially in fiberoptic telecommunications equipment. Somewhat ironically, this invisible-behaving material that is not actually invisible could also be used to create a real life Invisibility Cloak, at least for small objects. The full study is available at Nature Photonics.
Nanoscale Metamaterials The new material is a "metamaterial," an artificial material possessing unique properties that may not occur in nature. In this case, the Columbia scientists "sculpted" a cascading series of nanostructures (a nano is one billionth of a meter) that are smaller than light waves. The result is a material that reverses what you would normally expect when light passes through a substance.


more Scientists Create New Invisible Material | Reuters
 
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