![]() ![]() If a material could be commercialised, both researchers believe it could have many applications. "This is something that can easily be manufactured." "It's not an unrealistic blueprint - it doesn't demand that we do extraordinary things," he said. "The thickness depends on the wavelength you want to screen," he told BBC News.ĭr Sanchez-Dehesa now wants to make and test such a material in the lab to confirm the simulations.īut researchers, such as Professor Pendry, believe the initial work is already an important first step.Īcoustic cloaks could be used to make soundproof rooms or buildings Thinner stacks would shield an object from certain frequencies. Simulations showed that 200 layers of this metamaterial could effectively shield an object from noise. He believes a material that consists of arrays of tiny cylinders would achieve this effect. "The idea of acoustic cloaking is to deviate the sounds waves around the object that has to be cloaked," said Jose Sanchez-Dehesa of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, one of the researchers behind the new work. These would be used to channel any sound around an object, like water flowing around a rock in a stream. "Unlike ordinary materials, their acoustic properties are determined by their internal structure," explained Professor Pendry. ![]() Sound waves are channelled around an object by sonic crystals These artificial composites - also known as "meta-materials" - can be engineered to produce specific acoustical effects. The Spanish team who conducted the new work believe the key to a practical device are so-called "sonic crystals". "What hasn't been available for sound is the sort of materials you need to build a cloak out of." "The mathematics behind cloaking has been known for several years," said Professor John Pendry of Imperial College London, UK, an expert in cloaking. Scientists have previously demonstrated devices that cloak objects from microwaves, making them "invisible". The technology, outlined in the New Journal of Physics, could be used to build sound-proof homes, advanced concert halls or stealth warships. Scientists have shown off the blueprint for an "acoustic cloak", which could make objects impervious to sound waves. A working device could be used to enhance the acoustics of concert hallsīeing woken in the dead of night by noisy neighbours blasting out music could soon be a thing of the past. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |