Errymath: metamaterials

Star Trek-style invisibility cloaks come a step closer after scientists find a way of making submarines undetectable by sonar

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Researchers developed the new material and incorporated it into a 
three-foot high prototype (pictured). Sonar works by firing soundwaves 
and listening for their 'echo', but the pyramid-shaped prototype was 
able to redirect redirecting approaching waves<br />
<br />
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
Star Trek-style invisibility cloaks are a 
step closer to becoming reality after scientists developed a material 
that could make submarines invisible to sonar detectors.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
The invention deflects sound waves without echoing them back meaning sonar equipment cannot detect it.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
The
 device could lead to military submarines that are invisible to enemy 
sonar, paving the way for an invisibility cloak that deflects light like
 the device used by the Starship Enterprise spacecraft in the Star Trek 
film and TV franchise.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
Radar-evading 
stealth aircraft are a fixture of the world's air forces but until now 
underwater craft able to hide from sonar have proved elusive.</div>
<br />
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University developed the new material and incorporated it into a three-foot high prototype.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
Sonar works by firing soundwaves and listening for their 'echo', but the pyramid-shaped prototype was able to redirect<span style="font-size: 16px;"> approaching waves.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 16px;">Rather
 than deflecting off the object, the waves skirted around it without 
scattering any energy, rendering sonar technology useless.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
To create the device, scientists 
engineered a new type of metamaterial - materials engineered in a lab to
 produce extraordinary properties not found in nature.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
To
 work, the unit cell - the smallest component of the metamaterial - must
 be smaller than the acoustic wavelength of the sonar wave.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
Study
 coauthor Dr Amanda Hanford said: 'These materials sound like a totally 
abstract concept, but the math is showing us that these properties are 
possible.</div>
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<img alt="Star Trek cloaking devices (pictured) are a step closer to reality after scientists developed a material that could make submarines invisible. Until now underwater craft able to hide from sonar have proved elusive" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" height="359" id="i-91fad8d10afcdf46" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/05/10/12/4C0C64FD00000578-0-image-a-3_1525951667793.jpg" width="634" /><br />
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<div class="imageCaption">
Star Trek cloaking devices 
(pictured) are a step closer to reality after scientists developed a 
material that could make submarines invisible. Until now underwater 
craft able to hide from sonar have proved elusive.</div>
<div class="imageCaption">
<br /></div>
</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="artSplitter mol-img-group">
<h3 class="mol-factbox-title">
HOW DID SCIENTISTS CREATE A MATERIAL THAT IS INVISIBLE TO SONAR?</h3>
</div>
<div class="artSplitter mol-img-group">
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
Researchers at Pennsylvania State 
University designed and built a material that deflects the probing sound
 waves produced by sonar equipment.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
Sonar works by firing sound waves and listening for their 'echo', but the pyramid-shaped prototype device was able to redirect<span style="font-size: 16px;"> approaching waves.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 16px;">Rather
 than deflecting off the object, the waves skirted around it without 
scattering any energy, rendering sonar technology useless.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
To
 create the device, scientists engineered a new type of metamaterial - 
materials engineered in a lab to produce extraordinary properties not 
found in nature.</div>
To work, the unit cell
 - the smallest component of the metamaterial - must be smaller than the
 acoustic wavelength of the sonar wave.</div>
</blockquote>
<div class="artSplitter mol-img-group">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
'We are working to open the floodgates to see what we can create with these materials.'</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
Until now most acoustic metamaterials have been designed to deflect sound waves in air.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
Acoustic
 cloaking underwater is more complicated because water is more dense and
 doesn't compress as well as air, limiting engineering options.</div>
<br />
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
After multiple attempts, the team designed a three-foot-tall pyramid out of perforated steel plates.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
They then placed the structure on the floor of a large underwater research tank. </div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
Inside the tank, they fired acoustic waves between 7,000 Hz and 12,000 Hz at the object and monitored the reflected waves.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
They
 found the phase and amplitude of the waves reflected from the cloaking 
device matched those reflected by the tank's surface - rendering the 
object invisible. </div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
These results 
demonstrated this material could make an object appear invisible to 
underwater instruments like sonar, the researchers said. <i><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/" target="_blank">dailymail</a></span></i></div>
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Star Trek-style invisibility cloaks come a step closer after scientists find a way of making submarines undetectable by sonar

Researchers developed the new material and incorporated it into a three-foot high prototype (pictured). Sonar works by firing soundwaves...

METAMATERIALS: NEW 'INVISIBILITY CLOAKS' MAKE FIGHTER JETS INVISIBLE

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4YsV1sjhdntZThcPQy0J5BKnjG6Vt2QvlG1nA6XB6yigKYrOmEXFzbU23vcfG_9oYU-zUrqXJKYaS2a6SlH1fJ9BuJKM-Y5hs7fUv1zpFZMJ61wMxMfGYqpS1iNTnVzB9OyG8VK5l5s/s1600/gif++++Quantum+stealth+clothes.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="261" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4YsV1sjhdntZThcPQy0J5BKnjG6Vt2QvlG1nA6XB6yigKYrOmEXFzbU23vcfG_9oYU-zUrqXJKYaS2a6SlH1fJ9BuJKM-Y5hs7fUv1zpFZMJ61wMxMfGYqpS1iNTnVzB9OyG8VK5l5s/s400/gif++++Quantum+stealth+clothes.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Invisibility Cloaks</td></tr></tbody></table>
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<a href="https://weibo.com/tv/v/G8d1ZsdZC?fid=1034:ff272776633b5cdbf79fb2f0756970bd" target="_blank">Metamaterials</a> in a state-run lab that reportedly functions as 
'<a href="http://www.newsweek.com/china-says-it-can-make-fighter-jets-invisible-cloaks-made-metamaterials-842167" target="_blank">invisibility cloaks</a>' and could be used to make fighter jets impossible 
to detect, according to local media.<br />
A broadcast by <a class="externalLink" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zqa1eCXMVU" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">China Central Television Station (CCTV)</a>,
 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.<br />
However, the functions of these materials have not yet been disclosed. Chinese news platform <a class="externalLink" href="https://mil.sina.cn/sd/2018-03-11/detail-ifxpwyhx0625776.d.html?vt=4&cid=65898" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sina</a>
 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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<b>What are <a href="https://www.popsci.com/" target="_blank">metamaterials</a>?</b><br />
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).<br />
<br />
<div class="st-block markdown  text-left  ">
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.<br />
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.</div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfPSceQvLG4F5Hx0GGm4HsdOL4qS3L5YI8AYOtfq9zZDQTJx0oF1VAE8IOJIqGqWQibdODwDVD024ysUVCtHVk_WJ7RjYu80aQPvz4bNu4eKx-iILKTlfMpUNiuSbw4FROICdyzi3ninE/s1600/J-20A+Milka+close+up+-+1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfPSceQvLG4F5Hx0GGm4HsdOL4qS3L5YI8AYOtfq9zZDQTJx0oF1VAE8IOJIqGqWQibdODwDVD024ysUVCtHVk_WJ7RjYu80aQPvz4bNu4eKx-iILKTlfMpUNiuSbw4FROICdyzi3ninE/s1600/J-20A+Milka+close+up+-+1.jpg" /></a><br />
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. <br />
<br />
<img alt="J-20A + flares by Songbird.jpg" class="bbCodeImage LbImage" src="https://defence.pk/pdf/attachments/j-20a-flares-by-songbird-jpg.460940/" /><br />
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<img alt="J-20A+ by Songbird.jpg" class="bbCodeImage LbImage" src="https://defence.pk/pdf/attachments/j-20a-by-songbird-jpg.460936/" /><br />
<br />
Scientists are reportedly producing the materials at the <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.kuang-chi.com/en/index.php?ac=article&at=list&tid=289" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">State Key Laboratory of Metamaterial Electromagnet Modulation Technology</a>, which was established in 2011 and is based in the Guangqi Advanced Institute of Technology. According to its <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.kuang-chi.com/en/index.php?ac=article&at=list&tid=289" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>, the lab has an annual production capacity of more than 107,600 square feet of metamaterial plates.<br />
“State key” indicates the organization is state-funded or run by the Chinese government.<br />
<br />
<b>A 'super material' that's INVISIBLE, 'invisibility cloak' metamaterial in bulk</b><br />
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<br />
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. <br />
Yang Wei, the J-20's chief designer, <a href="http://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." target="_blank">told</a> 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.<br />
<br />
Last December, a video of a man demonstrating the abilities of a quantum
 invisibility cloak went viral worldwide after it was shared to <a class="externalLink" href="https://www.weibo.com/1890443153/Fy78Djowl?from=page_1005051890443153_profile&wvr=6&mod=weibotime&type=comment" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Weibo</a>, a Chinese social media platform.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4YsV1sjhdntZThcPQy0J5BKnjG6Vt2QvlG1nA6XB6yigKYrOmEXFzbU23vcfG_9oYU-zUrqXJKYaS2a6SlH1fJ9BuJKM-Y5hs7fUv1zpFZMJ61wMxMfGYqpS1iNTnVzB9OyG8VK5l5s/s1600/gif++++Quantum+stealth+clothes.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="261" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4YsV1sjhdntZThcPQy0J5BKnjG6Vt2QvlG1nA6XB6yigKYrOmEXFzbU23vcfG_9oYU-zUrqXJKYaS2a6SlH1fJ9BuJKM-Y5hs7fUv1zpFZMJ61wMxMfGYqpS1iNTnVzB9OyG8VK5l5s/s640/gif++++Quantum+stealth+clothes.gif" width="522" /></a></div>
  <br />
<a href="http://www.newsweek.com/china-says-it-can-make-fighter-jets-invisible-cloaks-made-metamaterials-842167" target="_blank">Some believed</a> 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.<br />
<br />
Zhu Zhensong, a producer at Quantum Video production company, told that the video was a sham and probably edited together 
with a plastic cloth.<br />
"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.<br />
<br /></div>

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 t...

A 'super material' that's INVISIBLE and 'could make FIGHTER JETS impossible to see'

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<img alt="The programme, aired on China Central Television Station, shows workers making the base material (pictured) for different metamaterials, which the Chinese call 'super materials'" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-track-pos="1" height="437" id="i-2463170a8654a33" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/03/12/13/4A1DA12900000578-5490455-image-m-13_1520859866757.jpg" width="634" /><br />
The programme, 
aired on China Central Television Station, shows workers making the base
 material (pictured) for different metamaterials, which the Chinese call
 'super materials<br />
<br />
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
China has built an assembly line to mass produce cutting-edge 'super 
materials' that can perform the impossible, according to the 
Chinese state broadcaster.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
So far, the 
assembly line located in a lab in Shenzhen has manufactured different 
types of materials, including one that renders objects invisible, 
reported <a class="class" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zqa1eCXMVU" rel="nofollow" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">China Central Television Station</a><span style="margin-left: 5px; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></span> in a documentary released last week.  </div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
Although
 the station didn't explain what the invisibility cloak 'metamaterial' 
would be used for, according to Chinese news portal <a class="class" href="https://mil.sina.cn/sd/2018-03-11/detail-ifxpwyhx0625776.d.html?vt=4&cid=65898" rel="nofollow" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Sina</a>, it is likely to be used on the country's warplanes, particularly the J-20.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font"></div>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
China claims it has created a 'super material' that's INVISIBLE and 'could make FIGHTER JETS impossible to see'<br />A lab in Shenzhen has reportedly built assembly line for metamaterials<br />They are surfaces engineered on the nanoscale to perform specific tasks<a href="https://t.co/FkbHRPUWvB">https://t.co/FkbHRPUWvB</a></div>
— Market Savant (@MarketSavant) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarketSavant/status/973327305262161920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
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<div class="image-wrap" style="cursor: pointer;">
<img alt="" data-aria-label-part="" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DYHvNyuXcAAM1rx.jpg" style="top: -0px; width: 100%;" />
<br />
Chinese scientists 
have managed to produce an 'invisibility cloak' metamaterial in bulk, 
said China's state broadcaster. The team reportedly work in a laboratory
 (pictured) in Shenzhen</div>
<br />
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
What the Chinese refer to as 'super 
materials' are generally known as metamaterials, which are a new class 
of finely-engineered surfaces that could have properties unachievable 
with conventional materials.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" id="ext-gen107">
Some
 metamaterials can bend infrared radiation such as visible light, which 
means they could be used to create invisibility cloaks.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
And
 according to the Chinese Central Television Station, the Chinese 
scientists have managed to make such invisibility materials in bulk.</div>
<br />
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
The report took the viewers inside the 
mysterious lab where Jin Xi, a doctor of Materials Science, and his team
 were busy feeding pieces of material from one machine to another.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
Each
 piece, 80cm long and 60cm wide, is said to be the plated with bronze 
and would be used as the base material for the Chinese 'super material'.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
A layer of special film, which could show some 20,000 patterns once exposed to light, will be added to this base material.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
The patterns, as tiny as 0.2 square millimetres, are said to contain thousands of micro-structures invisible to the human eye.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
These micro-structures are used to control the properties of metamaterials.</div>
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="460" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4zqa1eCXMVU" width="660"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
The
 report didn't mention what type of 'super material' the workers were 
making, but it claimed that Chinese scientists have 
developed metamaterials to help develop the country's aviation 
industry. </div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
A report from Sina, one of 
China's largest news portals, claimed on March 11 that the lab in 
question is the State Key Laboratory of Metamaterial Electromagnetic 
Modulation Technology in Shenzhen, a state-funded lab established in 
2011.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<br /></div>
<h3 class="mol-factbox-title" id="ext-gen108">
<span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">WHAT ARE METAMATERIALS?</span></h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="ins cleared mol-factbox-body">
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
Metamaterials are a new class of surfaces which have been engineered on the nanoscale, as small as a billionth of a metre wide.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
The materials used to construct them are arranged in certain patterns or shapes, designed to perform specific tasks.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
Most are created on computers and 3D-printed as plastic blocks or slabs, although metals and other materials can also be used.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
One such task is to bend electromagnetic radiation around an object.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
The
 first examples only worked with long-wavelength radiation, such as 
microwaves, while others altered the path of near-infrared radiation.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
Some can bend sound waves to focus them for medical purposes or to create speakers which direct sound to a specific spot.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
Some scientists have claimed there is nothing stopping them from scaling their inventions up to hide objects from visible light.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
So far, however, this has proved more of a challenge.</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
When light is shone upon an object it is either reflected or absorbed, dictating how it appears to a human eye.  </div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" id="ext-gen109">
Using
 metamaterials, the interaction of particles with light can be changed 
so that the object appears invisible, or as something completely 
different.</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
China says it has developed invisibility cloaks that may be used on fighter jets <a href="https://t.co/VW2BcNH9Vk">https://t.co/VW2BcNH9Vk</a> <a href="https://t.co/dTfe8tPvlJ">pic.twitter.com/dTfe8tPvlJ</a></div>
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) <a href="https://twitter.com/Newsweek/status/973707806166716417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br /></div>

A 'super material' that's INVISIBLE and 'could make FIGHTER JETS impossible to see'

The programme, aired on China Central Television Station, shows workers making the base material (pictured) for different metamaterials,...

The invisibility cloak made from 'SKIN': Material can shield objects from radar and could one day block visible light

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkUDAn5ZfSqjx9z-D54BD2OP8d32a9x68IgcYfl3zjL2nymDsd8G_ZAX3gqe9NC_r2NfbkSZXvA7fh52ujnZ2NQOTfbSbNdfDKl7BaxPc0KGX8Id5jKHL2jjjsRLb9Dm0OEZLHd9pG5Ag/s1600/31F3601100000578-0-image-a-1_1457344752618.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkUDAn5ZfSqjx9z-D54BD2OP8d32a9x68IgcYfl3zjL2nymDsd8G_ZAX3gqe9NC_r2NfbkSZXvA7fh52ujnZ2NQOTfbSbNdfDKl7BaxPc0KGX8Id5jKHL2jjjsRLb9Dm0OEZLHd9pG5Ag/s640/31F3601100000578-0-image-a-1_1457344752618.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A group of researchers has invented a 
flexible and stretchable metamaterial-based 'skin' or meta-skin with 
tunable cloaking effects in the microwave frequency range. The material 
is made up of rows of rings, with a radius of 0.1 inches (2.5mm) and 
gaps of 0.04 inches (1mm). It could also be adapted to hide from visible
 light</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span id="ext-gen146" style="font-size: 1.2em;">The idea might seem to belong in Harry Potter, but invisibility cloaks could soon be found in real life.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">A group of engineers has invented a flexible, stretchable material that can hide an object from the eyes of radar detectors. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The
 so-called 'meta material' could coat the surface of the next-generation
 of stealth aircraft and the researchers are hoping to extend its 
'cloaking' properties to include visible light, too. </span></div>
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<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Radar is a way of detecting objects using radio waves or microwaves. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The
 waves are transmitted by the device and objects in their path reflect 
them back to the radar receiver, which can tell how far away the objects
 are or how fast they are moving.</span></div>
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<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The technology is used for detecting aircraft, spaceships, motor vehicles and missiles, for example.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The
 new metamaterial-based skin, or 'meta-skin', developed by a group from 
Iowa State University, is a kind of radar invisibility cloak that will 
trap radio or microwaves so would not show up under a radar detector. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
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<img alt="The idea of an invisibility cloak might seem to belong in Harry Potter (scene pictured) but soon it could be found in real life after researchers designed a new 'meta-skin'. The material can hide from radar detectors and one day, the researchers said, they hope it will work on visible light" class="blkBorder img-share" data-track-pos="1" height="317" id="i-4db6f2c2931911a6" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/03/07/10/31F3597500000578-0-image-a-2_1457344828937.jpg" width="634" /><div class="share-pictures-overlay" id="share-pictures-2">
  
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<div class="imageCaption">
The idea of an invisibility cloak 
might seem to belong in Harry Potter (scene pictured) but soon it could 
be found in real life after researchers designed a new 'meta-skin'. The 
material can hide from radar detectors and one day, the researchers 
said, they hope it will work on visible light</div>
</div>
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox sciencetech">
<div class="ins cleared xolcc bdrcc">
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<img alt="The liquid-filled rings in the meta-skin create electric inductors, which resist changes in current passing through them, and the gaps create capacitors.Stretching the material changes the size of the liquid metal rings inside, so changes the frequency the devices suppress" class="blkBorder img-share" height="263" id="i-1c2e43524a10b06d" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/03/07/10/31F3603F00000578-0-Stretching_the_material_changes_the_size_of_the_liquid_metal_rin-a-12_1457345762902.jpg" width="624" /></div>
</div>
<div class="imageCaption">
The liquid-filled rings in the 
meta-skin create electric inductors, which resist changes in current 
passing through them, and the gaps create capacitors.Stretching the 
material changes the size of the liquid metal rings inside, so changes 
the frequency the devices suppress</div>
<div class="imageCaption">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It can be tuned to the specific wavelength of electromagnetic waves by stretching and flexing the skin.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The cloak is made from metamaterials, the name for composite materials that have properties not found in nature. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The specific metamaterials used for the cloak can manipulate electromagnetic waves.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">'It
 is believed that the present meta-skin technology will find many 
applications in electromagnetic frequency tuning, shielding and 
scattering suppression,' the engineers wrote in their paper.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The
 material is made up of rows of rings, with a radius of 0.1 inches 
(2.5mm) and gaps of 0.04 inches (1mm), filled with a metal alloy that is
 a liquid at room temperature called galinstan.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
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<img alt="The diagram shows the experimental setup for measuring the radar detected from a nylon rod wrapped in the new meta-skin." class="blkBorder img-share" data-track-pos="2" height="435" id="i-9113f395dc39bcc8" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/03/07/11/31F3601700000578-3480178-image-a-4_1457348793112.jpg" width="634" /><div class="share-pictures-overlay" id="share-pictures-3">
  
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The diagram shows the experimental setup for measuring the radar detected from a nylon rod wrapped in the new meta-skin.</div>
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<img alt="The diagram shows the fabrication process flow for the meta-skin. The material can trap radar waves and one day, the researchers said, the meta-skin could coat the surface of the next generation of stealth aircrafts" class="blkBorder img-share" data-track-pos="3" height="577" id="i-712044f5f4395158" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/03/07/10/31F3602B00000578-0-image-a-5_1457345111839.jpg" width="634" /><div class="share-pictures-overlay" id="share-pictures-4">
  
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The diagram shows the fabrication 
process flow for the meta-skin. The material can trap radar waves and 
one day, the researchers said, the meta-skin could coat the surface of 
the next generation of stealth aircrafts</div>
<div class="imageCaption">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The
 rings create electric inductors, which resist changes in current 
passing through them, and the gaps create capacitors, which store 
electrical energy in a temporary electric field.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Together they create a resonator that can trap and suppress radar waves at a certain frequency.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Stretching the material changes the size of the liquid metal rings inside, so changes the frequency the devices suppress. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<br /></div>
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<img alt="In the range of frequency between 8 and 10 GHz, part of the spectrum used for things like cable and satellite TV and radar devices, the material suppressed about 75 per cent of the radar waves" class="blkBorder img-share" data-track-pos="4" height="506" id="i-60886831cc0fc83d" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/03/07/10/31F3602300000578-0-In_the_range_of_frequency_between_8_and_10_GHz_part_of_the_spect-a-8_1457345545019.jpg" width="634" /><div class="share-pictures-overlay" id="share-pictures-5">
  
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In the range of frequency between 8 
and 10 GHz, part of the spectrum used for things like cable and 
satellite TV and radar devices, the material suppressed about 75 per 
cent of the radar waves</div>
</div>
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox sciencetech floatRHS">
                            <h3 class="wocc">
<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></h3>
<h3 class="wocc">
<i><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">INVISIBILITY CLOAKS IN THE MOVIES </span></span></i></h3>
<div class="ins cleared xolcc bdrcc">
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<i><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">- In
 Harry Potter, Dumbledore returns Harry's father's invisibility cloak to
 Harry as a Christmas present during his first year at Hogwarts. </span></span></i></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<i><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Harry uses the cloak throughout the series to sneak around the school. </span></span></i></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<i><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">- In  2002 Bond film Die Another Day, Bond's Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, can become invisible. </span></span></i></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<i><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">- Its
 "adaptive camouflage" cloaking system, allowed Pierce Brosnan to press a
 button and disappear his speedster, at least to the naked eye.</span></span></i></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<i><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">- And,
 although not technically a cloak, in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings
 films, after being introduced in The Hobbit the ring of power makes 
those that wear it invisible.</span></span></i></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">In
 the range of frequency between 8 and 10 GHz, part of the super high 
frequency radio waves used for things like cable and satellite TV, 
microwave cookers, amateur radio and most modern radar devices, the 
material suppressed about 75 per cent of the radar waves.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">'This
 meta-skin technology is different from traditional stealth technologies
 that often only reduce the backscattering, i.e., the power reflected 
back to a probing radar,' the paper said.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">One day, the researchers explained, the meta-skin could coat the surface of the next generation of stealth aircraft.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">They
 also hope in the long term that the devices will be able to be used on 
higher frequency electromagnetic waves, such as visible light or 
infrared, making a real invisibility cloak.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font" id="ext-gen147">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">'While
 that would require advanced nanomanufacturing technologies and 
appropriate structural modifications, we think this study proves the 
concept of frequency tuning and broadening, and multidirectional wave 
suppression with skin-type metamaterials,' said Liang Dong, lead author 
of the paper. <i>dailymail</i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br /><a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rf?id=bBOTTqvd0r3Pooab7jrHcU&u=DailyMail" target="_blank"></a></div>
</div>

The invisibility cloak made from 'SKIN': Material can shield objects from radar and could one day block visible light

A group of researchers has invented a flexible and stretchable metamaterial-based 'skin' or meta-skin with tunable cloaking ef...

US Army is developing 'invisibility suit' using metamaterials

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1 id="ext-gen48">
<span style="font-size: large;">US Army is developing 'invisibility suit' for 
soldiers to make them DISAPPEAR on the battlefield - and says it will 
begin trials in just 18 months</span></h1>
<ul class="mol-bullets-with-font">
<li class=""><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Hoped suit will work in every terrain, and in every temperature</strong></span></li>
<li class=""><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>chameleon-like system would continuously update the colour and pattern</strong></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="author-section byline-plain">
<i>By

Mark Prigg For Dailymail.com</i>

</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The US Army is developing an invisibility suits for its soldiers.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It
 has requested firms developing 'stealth fabrics' to get in touch - and 
is hoping to test the first prototypes within 18 months.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It is hoped the suit will work in every terrain, from deserts to jungles - and in every temperature.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
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<img alt="Can you see me? The US Army has called for firms developing stealth technology to work on an 'invisibility suit' for soldiers that can be used anywhere in the world." class="blkBorder img-share" height="422" id="i-83cd63b1957b3992" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/05/07/20/191476E6000005DC-0-image-a-4_1431026314739.jpg" width="634" /><div class="share-pictures-overlay" id="share-pictures-1">
  
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<div class="imageCaption">
Can you see me? The US Army has called
 for firms developing stealth technology to work on an 'invisibility 
suit' for soldiers that can be used anywhere in the world.</div>
<div class="imageCaption">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The
 US army's call for proposals from companies calls for wearable 
camouflage with a chameleon-like ability to change according to the 
background. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">'A
 chameleon-like or adaptive camouflage system would continuously update 
the colour and pattern, concealing the Soldier in the current 
environment.' </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It
 calls for firms to 'Develop an innovative adaptive camouflage 
technology that can be used by individual soldiers in various land 
environments. A non-powered solution is preferred.'</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Contractors will demonstrate the feasibility of their approach in the first six months of the programme. </span></div>
<div>
<div class="related-carousel with-fb sciencetech" data-track-module="am-related_carousel^related_carousel" data-track-pos="static" data-track-selector=".rotator-panels a:not([class*=external])" id="p-16">
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</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Those selected for the following one-year phase will submit 10 prototype uniforms for testing. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">These need to work in all terrain from all angles. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">They
 also need to function across a wide range of temperatures, in rain and 
snow, and without hampering a soldier's normal duties.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">If
 the adaptive camouflage requires a power source, this must weigh no 
more than 0.45 kilograms and provide at least 8 hours of operation.</span></div>
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox sciencetech">
                <h3 class="wocc">
                    <span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></h3>
<h3 class="wocc">
<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></h3>
<h3 class="wocc">
<span style="background-color: #ffe599;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">WHAT THE ARMY WANTS </span></span></h3>
<div class="ins cleared xolcc bdrcc">
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Has 360-degree coverage and 'can actively respond to various land environments under changing light conditions.'</span></span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Can be integrated with soldier's equipment.</span></span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Ideally,
 will not require a power supply. If it does require a power supply, it 
'should last a minimum of four hours and weigh no more than two pounds' 
including batteries and connections.</span></span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Reflects infrared light the same way as other army uniforms</span></span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Works in a range of terrain, including desert, forest, urban areas, jungle, and mountains.</span></span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Works
 below freezing and at temperatures above 95 degrees Fahrenheit, in high
 wind, in stormy weather, and in smoke, dust, or fog</span></span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<br /></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It is believed two options are under consideration. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">In
 2006, John Pendry, a theoretical physicist at Imperial College London, 
showed that it should be possible to bend light around an object and 
hide it using metamaterials – which channel electromagnetic waves.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">However, many only work in the lab with specific wavelengths or from certain angles.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Work with TV-like LEDs were hampered by power and computing requirements.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">But although they can bend light, metamaterials cannot make things disappear completely.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<br /></div>
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<img alt="Guy Cramer, CEO of Canadian camouflage makers Hyperstealth Biotechnology, says he demonstrated metamaterial camouflage to US military scientists last year, " class="blkBorder img-share" height="476" id="i-6906ef7af4b020b2" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/05/07/20/286CD3FF00000578-0-image-a-10_1431027665952.jpg" width="634" /><div class="share-pictures-overlay" id="share-pictures-2">
  
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<div class="imageCaption">
Guy Cramer, CEO of Canadian camouflage
 makers Hyperstealth Biotechnology, says he demonstrated metamaterial 
camouflage to US military scientists last year, </div>
<div class="imageCaption">
<br /></div>
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<div class="imageCaption">
Hyperstealth Biotechnology won't yet reveal </div>
<div class="imageCaption">
details or release photographs of the material.</div>
<div class="imageCaption">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Despite this, some firms claim they already have working products. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Guy
 Cramer, CEO of Canadian camouflage makers Hyperstealth Biotechnology, 
says he demonstrated metamaterial camouflage to US military scientists 
last year, and that the new project will allow him to move forward with 
it. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">But Cramer won't yet reveal details or release photographs of the material.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">'What's the holdup on our Quantum Stealth (Light Bending material)?' the firm wrote.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">'The U.S. military needed to put in place the requirement, without that requirement we were not allowed to work with them. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
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<img alt="The wearer would be effectively transparent at some wavelengths but not all, rendering them as a coloured shadow or ghost image" class="blkBorder img-share" height="416" id="i-ce7b454539604418" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/05/07/20/0F28FD8700000578-0-The_wearer_would_be_effectively_transparent_at_some_wavelengths_-m-6_1431027065312.jpg" width="634" /><div class="share-pictures-overlay" id="share-pictures-5">
  
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<div class="imageCaption">
The wearer would be effectively transparent at some wavelengths but not all, rendering them as a coloured shadow or ghost image</div>
<div class="imageCaption">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">'Key
 people in the U.S. Military had assumed bending light across the 
Ultraviolet, Visible and Infrared spectrum was impossible until 
Hyperstealth recently demonstrated that and more to those people. </span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">'This requirement for light weight, passive (non-powered) adaptive camouflage has now been issued.' </span></div>
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US Army is developing 'invisibility suit' using metamaterials

US Army is developing 'invisibility suit' for soldiers to make them DISAPPEAR on the battlefield - and says it will begin trials...

Global race in the development of metamaterials

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<img alt="A metamaterial testing facility. (Internet photo)" class="photo" height="379" src="http://www.wantchinatimes.com/newsphoto/2015-05-04/450/metamaterials-150233_copy1.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; display: block;" title="A metamaterial testing facility. (Internet photo)" width="640" /><div class="caption" style="color: #666666; margin: 0.5em 0px 1em; padding: 0px;">
A metamaterial testing facility. (Internet photo)</div>
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<a href="http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1101&MainCatID=11&id=20150504000094" target="_blank">Global race in the development of metamaterials</a>, 
spearheading a new trend that is revolutionizing technology in fields 
ranging from telecommunications to aerospace, reports the overseas 
edition of the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily.</div>
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Metamaterials are defined as materials engineered to have properties that have not yet been found in nature. They are made from complex assemblies of multiple elements fashioned from conventional materials and derive their properties from their designed structure — such as shape, geometry, size, orientation and arrangement — as opposed to the properties of the base materials.</div>
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Appropriately designed metamaterials are capable of affecting light, radar, electromagnetic waves, sound waves and seismic waves. The diverse range of areas where metamaterial has potential applications include military, aerospace, ultrasonic sensors, infrastructure monitoring, public safety, telecommunications, high-gain antennas and minimizing earthquake damage.</div>
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Metamaterials rose to prominence in 2000, when a group of physicists led by David Smith from the University of California, San Diego used the technology to create an imperfect "invisibility cloak." However, explorations of artificial materials for manipulating electromagnetic waves actually began as early as the end of the 19th century, with Soviet physicist Victor Veselago achieving a breakthrough in 1968 for being being the first to theoretically describe negative index materials.</div>
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With the traditional reliance on high-performing materials becoming increasingly strained due to scarce resources, governments, scientific communities and industrial sectors of developed countries around the world have begun to attach great importance on the development of metamaterial technology.</div>
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The United States Department of Defense, for instance, has activated a metamaterial research project, while the country's six largest semiconductor companies including Intel, AMD and IBM, have also set up a joint fund to sponsor related research. The European Union has also assembled a team of more than 50 specialists in the field to conduct research and to provide funding support. Even Japan, despite its struggling economy, has launched at least two research projects related to metamaterial technology, with each pproject costing 3 billion yen (US$25 million).</div>
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Breakthroughs in the field have come from all across the globe. In the US, scientists have developed an elastic ceramic tube that can spring back after being squashed by up to 50%, which may prove useful in spacecraft or jet engines to replace metal shells. In Germany, scientists recently managed to make homogenous cylindrical objects completely invisible in the microwave range using metamaterials, which could go towards helping one day make stealth aircraft completely undetectable to military radars. French scientists have also used metamaterial technology to create earthquake "shields" that can deflect acoustic waves like those generated in an earthquake.</div>
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China's development in the metamaterials field has been more scattered, with the 863 Program (State High-Tech Development Plan), the 973 Program (National Basic Research Program) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China all receiving government funding to explore the technology.</div>
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There have been several Chinese metamaterial innovations hailed as breakthroughs. In 2009, physicists in China used metamaterials to create the first artificial electromagnetic black hole. Other achievements include advancements in stealth technology and creating the ability to observe negative refraction with sound waves.</div>
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Last month, the Terminology of Electromagnetic Metamaterials was submitted to the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) for approval, which would provide national standards for the application of metamaterials in the country for the very first time.</div>
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A prominent player in the market is Chinese prodigy Liu Ruopeng, who has a doctorate in electronic engineering from Duke University and was selected as a top-level 863 Program specialist in metamaterials at the age of 29. He currently serves as the president of the Shenzhen-based Kuang-Chi Institute of Advanced Technology and the chairman of KuangChi Science. Founded in 2010, Kuang-Chi has applied for more than 2,800 patents, 86% of which are linked to the metamaterials materials industry.</div>
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Kuang-Chi is responsible for the development of electromagnetic metamaterial antennas, which can launch energy into free space and has applications in wireless communication, space communications, GPS, satellites, space vehicle navigation and airplanes. Similar technology is only starting to be commercialized in the US this year, though Kuang-Chi already tested the technology in 22 Chinese provinces as early as three years ago.</div>
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China's advancements in the microstructure processing of metamaterials is also leading the field. Last year, a group led by professor Huang Xiaozhong from Huan province's Central South University used 3D printers to create a 18-millimeter piece of metamaterial with 100,000 physical units, which could represent a huge step forward in the fast-printing of stealth space aircraft and its replacement parts in the future.</div>
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The online database RnR Market Research estimates that the global market for metamaterials will grow at a healthy compund annual growth rate of over 41% over the next 10 years, reaching US$643 million by 2025. Applications in telecommunications are expected to dominate during this period, with sensing and optics tipped to emerge as the next big markets. Super lens, cloaking devices and absorbers are expected to be commercially available by 2019, 2022, and 2018 respectively, while emergence in the aerospace and defense sectors is expected by 2017.</div>
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Global race in the development of metamaterials

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