<%@LANGUAGE="VBSCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> WorldTribune.com: Mobile — New U.S. technology bends light to render troops, equipment invisble
New U.S. technology bends light to render troops, equipment invisble

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 Free Headline Alerts

Geostrategy-Direct.com

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has been developing technology designed to surround soldiers and assets in an invisible electromagnetic cloak.

Officials said the army has been teamed with leading U.S. universities to research the refraction of light to prevent visibility. They said such technology was based on the use of meta, an artificial material that can bend light.

"Meta materials are artificial materials with versatile properties that can be tailored to fit almost any practical need," Richard Hammond, a theoretical physicist at the U.S. Army's Research Office, said. "Similar to general relativity, where time and space are curved, transformation optics shows that the space for light can also be bent in an almost arbitrary way."

In an August 2008 briefing, Hammond reviewed developments in the field of negative index materials research and meta materials. He said research has demonstrated the ability of meta to reflect light beyond the capabilities of natural materials.

"One of the most exciting applications is an electromagnetic cloak that can bend light around itself, similar to the flow of water around a stone," Hammond said. "Making invisible both the cloak and an object hidden inside."

Meta could be used to cloak material by redirecting light around a cylindrical shape, researchers said. They said meta could also detect compounds such as chemical or biological weapons agents.

"If you're out on the battlefield and you see a cloud coming, or you suspect there might be an aerosol chemical or biological warfare being used against you, it's very difficult to quickly detect what the material is," Hammond said.

The U.S. Army project has included Purdue University, University of Colorado, University of Berkley and Princeton University. Hammond said the development of meta materials could result in the production of a lens that would allow soldiers to identify pathogens and viruses.

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