Nanotubes Turn 3D Objects Invisible
James Bullen
at 11:41 AM Nov 24 2011
Future spaceships might have cloaking devices like the USS Defiant
Wikipedia
Tech // 

The possibility of cloaked spaceships and vehicles in our future is becoming ever more probable, with scientists from the University of Michigan developing a carbon nanotube coating for objects which absorbs light, rendering them “invisible” against a black background.

The scientists demonstrated their findings by carving a picture of a tank onto a silicon chip (seen in the image below). They grew a carbon nanotube coating onto the chip, before viewing it against a dark background. The tank was invisible. In Image F, you can see a rectangle around the invisible tank. This is where the researchers did not grow nanotubes to act as a control. 



"You could use it to completely hide any 3D attributes of an object. It's not cloaking, as the object can still cast a shadow. But if you put an object on a black background, then with this coating, it could really become invisible," said Jay Guo, a principal investigator in the research in a University of Michigan press release.

Normally, we perceive objects by the amount of light they refract away from them. The carbon nanotube coating has refractive qualities similar to air, so light that moves into it is simply absorbed, rather than scattered or refracted. 

The coating has a thickness about half that of a sheet of paper, and absorbs 99.9 per cent of light. 

Future applications for the carbon nanotubes could include cloaking military vehicles like fighter jets flying at night, or better light absorption for energy in solar panels.

[Gizmag]


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