Light can be designed to pass through objects and be invisible to the human eye or any camera. It allows you to observe what is behind an object and how it is inside rather than X-rays.

As reported in an article published in the journal Nature Photonics, researchers at Utrecht and TU Wein (Vienna) have created special light waves that can penetrate opaque objects and make them practically invisible.

When we look at an object, we really want the reaction of light with the object we are looking at. If light does not affect objects, we cannot see them.

What Austrian scientists have achieved is that light passes through objects instead of turning to our eyes: it makes them invisible to us and any camera.

They found that light rays could be made to conform to an object: when they do arrive, these light rays do not modify, but continue their path as if the object were not actually there. This means that scientists can look not only at the back of an object but also at what is inside it.

Specific light waves

To arrive at this finding, the researchers used a layer of opaque zinc oxide powder (randomly arranged nanoparticles): they calculated how light is scattered through the dust and how it diffuses if there is no dust in the environment.

In this way, they found with a exactly the same pattern that a particular type of light wave registers a detector on the other side of the dust, albeit slightly weaker than the time they were sent.

Stefan Rotter, one of the architects of this discovery, explains a Release: “Waves on turbulent waters can take many different shapes, and light waves can be arranged in countless different shapes. Each of these light wave patterns changes and deviates in a very specific way when sent through a trouble-free medium. ‘

He adds: We have proven that there is a special class of light waves, scattered unchanging light modes, that produce the same wave pattern on the detector, regardless of whether the light wave is sent to the detector. Whether to penetrate into the complex layer of air or zinc oxide. ‘

Related Topic: Manages to make objects invisible by manipulating light waves

It’s hard, but not impossible

This is not easy, because even though there are theoretically unlimited light waves, you need to find light modes that can achieve the invisibility of an object if applied properly.

Is on Statements To the Independent, Rotor explains, “The light fields we present in our work are unique not only in the field output field patterns that the field produces behind the object, but also within it.”

The researchers suggest that this method be used for image processing to detect patterns of light penetrating an unobstructed object.

“In hospitals, X-rays are used to look inside the body; They have a short wavelength so they can penetrate our skin. But the way a light wave penetrates an object depends not only on the wavelength but also on the waveform, ”explains Matthias Kohmeyer, another developer of the technology.

‘If you want to focus light on an object in certain places, our method opens up completely new possibilities. With our approach we were able to show that the light distribution in the zinc oxide layer can also be specifically controlled. ‘It will be interesting for biological experiments,’ he adds.

Ultimately, Rotor believes that it is only a matter of time before measurement tools become faster and cheaper to enable more innovative applications.

Long distance

It has been acquired by Japanese engineers since 2003 Optical effect of invisibility, Scientists have been actively exploring various ways to make objects invisible.

Specially designed meta materials were tested on the nanotechnology scale, as well Light bending material To make people and objects invisible to the naked eye.

The development of Austrian scientists is close to the achievement of Canadian scientists in 2020: they built Invisible photonic circuits, Utilizes electronic resonance of laser-processed materials.

The story continues.

Reference

Unchanged modes of light scatter over complex media. Preetham Pie et al. Nature Photonics (2021). DOI: https: //doi.org/10.1038/s41566-021-00789-9

Photo above: The light beam passes through an object without scattering, making it invisible. Attribution: Allard Mosque / Matthias Kohmeyer