The invisibility cloak worn by Harry Potter in the best-selling children’s novels is a fantasy. But in the real world, new work on light bending with nanomaterials makes the invisibility cloak look like child’s play. Consider this: you’re part of a squadron in Iraq charged with stopping roadside bombs. You stake out a location on a busy highway used in the past for IEDs (improvised explosive devices). The terrorists can’t see you as they approach. You spring the trap, and the terrorists can see you, but you are actually 20 feet to the left!
An article in the March 28th edition of Science News called “Cornering the Tetrahertz Gap”, lays outs the scientific foundation on how this “sleight of light” could conceivably happen. Physicists start with man-made composites called “metamaterials” that consist of elements from the Periodic table. Their structure gives them unusual refractive properties. According to a report from Boston College: “Constructed on the micron-scale, metamaterials are composites that use unique metallic contours in order to produce responses to light waves, giving each metamaterial its own unique properties beyond the elements of the actual materials in use.”
Professors at the University of California Berkeley also employ a property called chiralty to literally bend light backwards.
Collaborators at Boston College and Boston University are investigating the potential for a security screening device that would not have the adverse biological effect of x-rays. Invisibility cloaks developed so far can only hide objects that are very small. A computer simulation shows that a can-shaped cloaking device made of many layers of concentric film could work.
Making cloaks that could cover the entire electromagnetic spectrum at the same time is still a major challenge.
Inspired by the hooks a parasitic worm uses to penetrate its host's intestines, the Karp Lab has invented a flexible adhesive patch covered with microneedles that adheres well to wet, soft tissues, but doesn't cause damage when removed.
Engineers at the University of California, San Diego are designing a robotic arm that takes inspiration from the loose, flexible, yet very strong structure of the armored plates on a seahorse's tail.
Researchers at the Missouri University of Science & Technology have designed a new nanoscale material that can transmit light faster than the 186,000 miles per second it usually takes to travel through air.
It has often been said that as California goes, so goes the nation. This spring, the state's wind power is setting energy generation records and solar energy generation is expected to rise sharply during the second half of 2013.
The latest model of Liquid Robotics' Wave Glider autonomous, unmanned marine vehicle (UMV), the SV3, is reportedly the world's first hybrid wave- and solar-power-propelled unmanned ocean robot.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 3
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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