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Scientists from the Queen Mary University of London have taken an important step towards realizing the idea of the invisible hat. The experiment is based on the controlled refraction of electromagnetic waves using 3D printed nanocomposite metamaterials.
The researchers used additive technologies to coat a tennis ball-sized metal object with seven layers of nanocomposite materials with different electrical properties. The design uses the effect of negative refraction, due to which electromagnetic waves bend around the object rather than scattering.
“The design is based on transformational optics - the concept at the heart of the idea of invisibility. Previous studies have shown that the method works for narrow frequencies, but we are trying to demonstrate that it works in a wider frequency range to make the technology practical for a range of engineering solutions such as nanoantennas and aerospace materials, ”says Professor Yang Hao.
As a practical application of such technologies, the possibility of installing antennas behind obstacles and increasing the efficiency of the antennas themselves by changing the design is given, although the mathematical models used can find application not only in working with electromagnetic waves. “We have demonstrated the practical possibility of controlling surface waves using nanocomposites and additive technologies. It is especially important that similar methods of influence can be applied to other physical phenomena described by wave equations - for example, in acoustics. We believe that our research will have a great impact on industrial technology, ”says Professor Luigi La Spada.
Alas, it is still impossible to hide from the eyes of jealous wives and tax inspectors: according to 3Dtoday, current experiments are conducted in the microwave range (8-10 GHz), that is, the wavelength is about 3 cm, and the visible light range is about 380-740 nm ... The problem is that in order to implement the technology in the visible range, it will be necessary to create structures with the necessary gradient of the refractive index, which are no longer measured in millimeters or micrometers, but in nanometers. In other words, you will have to wait a couple of years until additive technologies are brought up to the required level of print resolution. The existing developments in two-photon polymerization already make it possible to create complex objects only a few tens of microns in size.
