Cloaking device
Desmogod, Mon May 08 2006, 03:20PM
,,1766219,00.htmlNow all I need is a warp core and some plasma conduits and I'm there!
Re: Cloaking device
Bored Chemist, Mon May 08 2006, 04:57PM
"So far the researchers have only worked through the mathematics to prove that the device is plausible. The practicalities of making one have yet to be solved."
I'd never have guessed that bit.
Bored Chemist, Mon May 08 2006, 04:57PM
"So far the researchers have only worked through the mathematics to prove that the device is plausible. The practicalities of making one have yet to be solved."
I'd never have guessed that bit.
Re: Cloaking device
Part Scavenger, Tue May 09 2006, 01:27AM
"The superlens...which effectively makes light travel backwards."
Cool. That's all we need for time travel isn't it?
Part Scavenger, Tue May 09 2006, 01:27AM
"The superlens...which effectively makes light travel backwards."
Cool. That's all we need for time travel isn't it?
Re: Cloaking device
Simon, Wed May 10 2006, 02:26AM
I think I know what they mean, but that's pop-science for you.
Simon, Wed May 10 2006, 02:26AM
Part Scavenger wrote ...
"The superlens...which effectively makes light travel backwards."
What, like a mirror?"The superlens...which effectively makes light travel backwards."
I think I know what they mean, but that's pop-science for you.
Re: Cloaking device
Carbon_Rod, Wed May 10 2006, 03:10AM
I find your input rather humorous as Hawkings ideas about time suggest it may indeed flow backwards.
I see three problems with implementing this technology:
1.) If it works and one loses the keys a person could never find the ship.
2.) If it works and you collide with another ship you insurance will not cover you.
3.) By the time the technology exists to test this idea -- space will be so full of garbage everything will be hidden anyway.
Carbon_Rod, Wed May 10 2006, 03:10AM
I find your input rather humorous as Hawkings ideas about time suggest it may indeed flow backwards.
I see three problems with implementing this technology:
1.) If it works and one loses the keys a person could never find the ship.
2.) If it works and you collide with another ship you insurance will not cover you.
3.) By the time the technology exists to test this idea -- space will be so full of garbage everything will be hidden anyway.
Re: Cloaking device
Dr. Shark, Wed May 10 2006, 08:37AM
for microwave frequencys materials with a negative refractive index have been reality for years, and for visible light, "photonic crystals" as they are called, are a very hot topic. So this is definitely not Sci-Fi. This problem, as the article is kind of reluctant to mention, is that it would only work for light of a single frequency, e.g. laser light or narrow band radar. And you can have that much cheaper than using neg. refractive index materials, see for example the B52 bomber (OK, not _much_ cheaper maybe, but a bit...).
Still something that would be fun to play around with!
Dr. Shark, Wed May 10 2006, 08:37AM
for microwave frequencys materials with a negative refractive index have been reality for years, and for visible light, "photonic crystals" as they are called, are a very hot topic. So this is definitely not Sci-Fi. This problem, as the article is kind of reluctant to mention, is that it would only work for light of a single frequency, e.g. laser light or narrow band radar. And you can have that much cheaper than using neg. refractive index materials, see for example the B52 bomber (OK, not _much_ cheaper maybe, but a bit...).
Still something that would be fun to play around with!
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