College Park (MD) - Researchers at the University of Maryland have developed a cloaking device which can now hide objects in a much wider portion of the visible spectrum of light.  An observer could even see what's behind the object, just as if the obstruction wasn't there.  While not quite up to Romulan standards, the application does work in two dimensions and on very small objects.




A research team of physicists, led by Igor Smolyaninov, has built a new cloaking device built upon previous cloaking technology developed at Purdue University by Vladimir Shalaev earlier this year.  Shalaev's system was somewhat limited in that only a single wavelength of red light could be cloaked, that of 632.8 nm.  This new device works on a much larger spectrum of visible light, though it is still limited to light around 500nm and it does have other flaws.  Moving up or down from a 2D vantage point renders the field null and the object becomes visible.  There are also some indications along edges, and any light which happens to hit the device perfectly centered is also visible.



The cloaking device itself is a series of gold/plastic concentric rings only 10,000 nm across at the widest point built atop a gold substrate.  The gold/plastic provides a property which allows photons entering the rings to appear to be reflected around to the other side, effectively hiding whatever is placed in the middle.  Currently, a polarized form of cyan light projected from a very small fiber optic emitter is converted immediately into plasmons.  Plasmons are essentially waves of electrons "rippling" along the surface.  Because of the properties of gold/plastic in a vacuum, the plasmons are directed to the other side of the device where they are ejected again as photons.



Discrepancies in the cloaking field come from the fact that plasmons cannot be directed or moved in three dimensions.  The curvature near the edges, and the exact dead-center target of incoming light (where the photon doesn't know to go right or left), cannot create the plasmonic effect.  As a result, the photons at those locations bounce off as visible light, thereby disrupting the cloak.

Previous cloaking efforts have yielded only single wavelength cloaking abilities or EM frequencies which were not visible to the human eye.  These new frequencies operate around 500nm (cyan) and allow for a much wider range of frequencies to pass through with full operation.


Author's opinion
When microwave cloaks were first created using magnetic properties about a year ago, scientists then believed the idea of cloaking visible light was decades away.  This was largely due to the manner in which that microwave cloak was implemented.  However, the cloaking effect of visible light has already happened twice this year.  And whereas these small steps may be nowhere near as exciting as "engage the cloak" sequences on Star Trek, the reality now exists to direct photons plasmonically where needed, possibly for specific purposes at the scales this device operates.

Ultimately, as science continues to push the envelope in all fields of research, the most significant benefit from this technology could be optical applications within integrated circuits, or what we would call the base of photonic computers.  This story could ultimately prove to be the first step in a completed research project for a photonic computing application.  It wil be the one we'll read about in just a few years.

Cool

Oct 02, 2007 15:48     

Whoa thats cool.
Jack report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Romulans

Oct 02, 2007 18:11     

They found this on the "Romulans" after they crashed at Roswell 50 years ago.
David report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

None

Oct 02, 2007 21:20     

Imagine if they let this little bit out what they are not letting out. For example the Issac and the reverse engineered drones that are describe on Earthfiles dot com web site. Two ufo's crashed into each other and fell 150 miles apart. One on the Plains of San Augstine and the other at Corona. Roswell was the biggest town in between so they called it Roswell. But they found all kinds of neat things.

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Romulans2

Oct 02, 2007 21:51     

Agreed... Cloaking ability has already been perfected. just not to public knowledge. good work you college guys... keep it up!
R report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Klignons?

Oct 03, 2007 14:37     

Are you sure it was the Romulons? Could it have the Klignons? :) Is it that difficult to cloak something really small? It is hard to see in the first place. ;) ["Balance of Terror"... it's one of the best TOS episodes ever. We get to see Sarak as a Romulan! -Rick]
TomLeeM/BigWarpGuy report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Klingons are thieves

Oct 06, 2007 23:04     

I think in the ST mythos they heisted the technology from the romulans.
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Re: Klingons are Thieves

Oct 07, 2007 07:34     

Actually the Klingons traded warp drive technology to the Romulans for cloaking technology.
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Brace yourself!

Oct 07, 2007 22:54     

If cloaking got into the wrong hands, think of the outcomes. Theft, rape, etc. Cool idea...only if it's used properly. But you know it won't. Government will be first to implement it.
joey report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

not in your lifetime tho

Oct 14, 2007 07:38     

as title
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