Scientists create first truly functional invisibility device

A group of Canadian researchers led by Professor Jose Azaña published an academic article this week describing the process of creating an invisibility device they invented. The device is capable of preventing the reflection of light and thereby hiding another object of any color from the visible spectrum.

The technique used is different from that used in the scientific field to seek the creation of a really functional device for invisibility. Until then, the technique consisted of illuminating a colored object with a light of opposite color within the visible spectrum. In laboratories with controlled environments, it was then possible to disguise objects, but they were not completely imperceptible to the human eye. Other than that, when trying to reproduce these experiences in natural sunlight, the results were always negative.

In short, conventional solutions were based on altering the propagation of light around the object to be concealed, but because of the frequency difference in the waves of each color, a picturesque problem arose. “The problem is that the different colors or frequencies of the light spectrum require different time intervals to pass through the invisibility device. As a result, the temporal distortion created around the device reveals its presence, ruining the invisibility effect, ”Professor Azaña told El País.

The solution found by the Canadian team is based on the “Talbot Effect” and causes light waves to propagate through the object without being reflected, instead of forcing them to circumvent some element. To do this, scientists studied the propagation of light waves of each visible and non-visible color. With this knowledge, they were able to shift light frequencies first to other regions of the spectrum that would not be affected by the reflection or propagation caused by the object to be hidden.

The concept seems complex, but the idea itself is not that complicated. An example of how this technique works would look like this: A green object is perceived by the human eye because it is able to reflect only the green light in the visible spectrum, so researchers use the device to move the green light to another part of the spectrum. blue, for example) before it hits the object. Thus, when natural light reaches the element to be hidden, it cannot be reflected and "passes through".

Application

For now, this effect can only be reproduced in one dimension. This way, if a person looks at the camouflaged object from a different angle, he can perceive the disturbance of light.

Create new methods of thermal and acoustic insulation or even to make earthquake proof buildings

As the Talbot effect can be observed on all types of waves, Azaña's team research can be applied to other fields. "The processes used in our study are universal in character and therefore could be applied to waves of a nature other than electromagnetic, " explained the researcher. According to them, the same process created to make objects "immune" to light could be modified. to create new methods of thermal and acoustic insulation or even to make earthquake-proof buildings, as it could be possible to avoid the reflection of thermal and mechanical waves in these buildings.

Researchers now move on to the second phase of the project, which seeks to hide objects in multiple dimensions, but is not yet talking about a prediction for a Harry Potter-style “invisibility cloak” to hit the market.

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Scientists create first truly functional invisibility device via TecMundo