No ship that small has a cloaking device!

May 3, 2006 5:53 PM

Science imitates Star Trek, again. Physicists Nicolae Nicorovici and Graeme Milton have published a paper in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences outlining a theoretical means for constructing a cloaking device. A superlens constructed from a metamaterial with a negative refractive index could be used to create a resonance that cancelled the light coming off of a (very small) object, rendering it invisible.
posted by justkevin (11 comments total)

Considering that metamaterials at optical wavelengths are a brand spanking new area in research, I would consider these 'cloacking devices' to be on sale at about the same time as those "transportors" people were all shouting about a few years ago.
posted by toftflin at 6:26 PM on May 3, 2006

Metamaterial for Metafilter
posted by caddis at 6:50 PM on May 3, 2006

Let's just make sure we don't sign anything stupid -- like "the United States will not use cloaking devices except maybe in the Gamma Quadrant" -- that we'll regret in a later spin-off when our enemies have evolved into considerably more fearsome adversaries.
posted by freetshirt at 11:21 PM on May 3, 2006

It could work, but only if we can figure out how to get the Bussard collector to generate anti-tachyons.
posted by aparrish at 6:33 AM on May 4, 2006

This FPP sounds like it was written by Mike Okuda.
posted by adamrice at 7:40 AM on May 4, 2006

No need for name calling here.

After looking up who Mike Okuda is, I agree.
posted by justkevin at 9:29 AM on May 4, 2006

Not the bussard collector.. The phase shift discriminator. Just to ensure that the speck of dust does not get implanted in some refrigerator somewhere.
posted by pezdacanuck at 9:46 AM on May 4, 2006

Metamaterials point Cerenkov radiation the other way?

...fuck, that’s got some potential
posted by Smedleyman at 11:45 AM on May 4, 2006

it seems like something giving a similar effect wouldn't be that hard---fooling the eye is easy.
posted by amberglow at 5:47 PM on May 4, 2006

Seems like I read a post here a while ago about a shirt that basically had a bunch of tiny cameras on the back, and a bunch of tiny screens on the front, so it's like you're looking through the person wearing it. Same difference. Or maybe even better.
posted by bingo at 10:21 PM on May 5, 2006

Imperial press release.
posted by booksprite at 9:34 PM on May 26, 2006