METAMATERIALS: NEW 'INVISIBILITY CLOAKS' MAKE FIGHTER JETS INVISIBLE

Invisibility Cloaks

Metamaterials in a state-run lab that reportedly functions as 'invisibility cloaks' and could be used to make fighter jets impossible to detect, according to local media.
A broadcast by China Central Television Station (CCTV), revealed that a laboratory in Shenzhen, in southeastern China, is manufacturing various types of highly technological materials—including invisibility, anti-burning and anti-icing cloaks.
However, the functions of these materials have not yet been disclosed. Chinese news platform Sina reported that the assembly line is directly related to the military and the materials are likely to be used to camouflage J-20 fighter jets.
Metamaterials, known in China as "supermaterials," are materials engineered to have a property that is not found in nature. They are created from assemblies of multiple elements fashioned from various metals or plastics.
Some metamaterials can bend visible light (infrared radiation) through a novel optical material that effectively means they could act as an invisibility device. According to the CCTV broadcast, those materials are now being manufactured by an assembly line and will be used to help further China’s aviation industry.

What are metamaterials?
In this case, we're talking about composite metals and plastics that use artificial geometry to influence the wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, as well as elastic waves and sounds. Some metamaterials built using nanotechnology can also be used as super strength materials. In fact, optical metamaterials have already been used to demonstrate invisibility by 'redirecting' visible light around itself to avoid reflection, hence their frequent reference to the popular fiction of "cloaking" in Star Trek and Harry Potter. (No real-life cloaking shields have yet been demonstrated).

The metamaterials on the J-20 are likely to be used for as antennas and absorbers, given that the facility making them specializes in electromagnetic tech. Metamaterial antennas can increase radiated power, resulting in longer-range and more precise radar, as well as powerful jammers and datalinks. In turn, by fine-tuning their structures, metamaterial absorbers can be engineered to absorb specific wavelength ranges, such as those from the radars of enemy fighters and missiles. Such absorbers would likely be put on areas likely to reflect radar waves, such as the edges of canards, weapon bay doors, and engine nozzles.
Additionally, metamaterials optimized for infrared radiation can improve the sensitivity of the J-20's infrared sensors for tracking missiles and aircraft. Or, in large enough quantities, metamaterials could reduce the fighter's own infrared signature.

J-20 jets have several unique designs and capabilities, such as the canard configuration design that provides them greater stealth while maintaining maneuverability and its supersonic speed.





Scientists are reportedly producing the materials at the State Key Laboratory of Metamaterial Electromagnet Modulation Technology, which was established in 2011 and is based in the Guangqi Advanced Institute of Technology. According to its website, the lab has an annual production capacity of more than 107,600 square feet of metamaterial plates.
“State key” indicates the organization is state-funded or run by the Chinese government.

A 'super material' that's INVISIBLE, 'invisibility cloak' metamaterial in bulk




The Sina report also confirmed that the materials will likely be used by the military, specifically for camouflaging the J-20 fighter jets as its chief engineer Yang Wei is also on the laboratory’s academic board.
Yang Wei, the J-20's chief designer, told that China is already laying down the requirements for a sixth-generation follow-up to the J-20. Much as the USAF's envisioned futuristic Penetrating Counter Air platform, too, will likely include much more metamaterials.

Last December, a video of a man demonstrating the abilities of a quantum invisibility cloak went viral worldwide after it was shared to Weibo, a Chinese social media platform.

 
Some believed the clip was authentic as Chen Shiqu, the deputy director of Criminal Investigations Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, was the user who posted the footage. However, many doubted the validity of the clip because it did not appear on the official Chinese government website or the Criminal Investigation Bureau page.

Zhu Zhensong, a producer at Quantum Video production company, told that the video was a sham and probably edited together with a plastic cloth.
"Softwares such as Adobe's After Effects, Nuke or Blackmagic Fusion can edit the background and blend the object into it. The effect has previously seen in a lot of action movies," he said.