Boffins one step closer to invisible shed

Invisibility-investigating boffins have managed for the first time to cloak a three-dimensional object in free space – but only from microwaves. Credit: D Rainwater et al 2012 New Journal of Physics (click to enlarge) Rather than bending light around the object, an 18cm cylindrical tube, the researchers used "plasmonic …

[Simon Harris]

I think Orange got there first...

My phone seems to be invisible to their microwaves half the time!

[Francis Boyle]

"plasmonic cloaking"

Didn't Spock invent that. Or maybe it was Scotty. I'm sure it was one of them - having to escape certain death before the end of a TV hour is the mother of invention.

[b166er]

Does this mean that soon my wife won't be able to find me there either?

[Michael H.F. Wilkinson]

I made an invisible shed once

I sent MIT some photographs but they wouldn't believe me.

[Andy Fletcher]

Damn it

I was going to say "pictures or it didn't happen". Guess I did it anyway.

[Anonymous Coward]

Not sure what I'm looking at here apart from a graphic of some microwaves clearly being interfered with by an object.

Yes I did read the article, it doesn't match the provided "evidence" and no explanation is offered.

So what's the point?

[Dave 126]

I agree, the article was light on details. However, the tone of the headline would suggest that the concept has been covered before in The Reg.

To answer your question, the point is to keep Reg readers up to date with small progressions in an ongoing area of research. It is fairly clear that the important word in the article is "metamaterials".

I would recommend to everyone have a glance at the Wikepedia article that results from searching for the above word- some interesting concepts to muddle the brain with!

Making an invisible shed is but one of many potential (hopefully maybe!) applications across a broad range of disciplines.

[Anonymous Coward]

@Dave 126

Will do, thanks.

[Steve Knox]

Take a closer look at the graphic.

The third column is free-space -- i.e, the object isn't there to interfere. The interference you see in that column is likely from the mounting framework for the object. Now compare row 2 (3.1GHz) columns 2 (cloaked) and 3 (free-space). What's the difference?

[Disintegrationnotallowed]

at 3.1ghz and cloaked

You can see that the wave pattern shows no interference, I presume that is the point. Because there is no visible change in the wave pattern, the object is effectively invisible.

[Anonymous Coward]

It looks pretty interfered with to me and obviously so.

[Anonymous John]

some plasmonic materials are naturally available at optical frequencies.

My windows are made of it. I'm just waiting for someone to invent curtains.

[Andrew Newstead]

Steath techniques...

Interesting that this stuff is slap bang in the RADAR frequencies, are we seeing a "civilianisation" of somthing already developed for the US militiary (B2 paint anyone?)?

[Anonymous Coward]

in a short answer... no.

In a longer answer, not quite, no, the principles between how the two operate are completely different. The B2 paint minimises the radar footprint of the plane, it works by being highly absorbing to "radar" frequencies, as radar detection of objects relies on receiving reflected "radar" waves from objects it kind-of hides the planes. I say kind of because it's not perfect, and if a receiver was placed in line of sight of the "radar" source and the plane flew between there would be a massive gap in the received spectrum. A "meta-material cloak" designed to work at radar frequencies would make it seem like the object was completely transparent to "radar", no back reflected waves, and no distortion to the received signal in a line of sight system.

[Dave Bell]

What's the frequency of the cosmic microwave background? Wouldn't they have to cope with that?

[Anonymous Coward]

@Joe

Thank you.

[David Robinson 1]

Shirley...

...an invisible shed is a greenhouse?

[adnim]

Mmmmm

"Boffins one step closer to invisible shed"

Best be careful where they tread then, that next step could result in a bump on the noggin.

[Oninoshiko]

Wonderful

now we can stop arguing over what colour to paint it.