"Plasmonic shield" adds meaning to "black art"

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Guest

"Plasmonic shield" adds meaning to "black art"

Postby Guest » March 2nd, 2005, 6:16 am

Check THIS LINK out.

"An invisible shield that makes objects vanish has been proposed by scientists who say their idea obeys the laws of physics."

Steve H

Guest

Re: "Plasmonic shield" adds meaning to "black art"

Postby Guest » March 2nd, 2005, 6:44 am

Originally posted by Steve Hook:
Check THIS LINK out.

"An invisible shield that makes objects vanish has been proposed by scientists who say their idea obeys the laws of physics."

Steve H
Yup, you might not see the thing itself, but the energy of the sheild would make sure you know something is there. About as effective as hiding the fine details of submarine from sonar by making the ocean noisy.

On a more practical front, the optical characteristics of Silver and Gold may make this energy sensitive light channeling phenomenon useful in both vision and photographic areas of study.

Fred Zimmerman
Posts: 102
Joined: February 2nd, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Chicago

Re: "Plasmonic shield" adds meaning to "black art"

Postby Fred Zimmerman » March 3rd, 2005, 2:04 pm

I read this article with interst and it just doesn't stand up to the slightest bit of scrutiny. I smell a hoax.

First of all, let's assume this theoretical shield could be made. It would be propoerly tuned to the light source around it and the light would effectively pass through the shield, rendering the shield invisible. Shades of Harry Potter's Cloak of Invisibility.

Next, they use an M&M as an example (another red flag if you ask me). They say that if the coating of the M&M were made of this shield, the light would pass through it, rendering it invisible. OK, one small problem--what about the chocolate? Why would the light pass through it? Of course, it wouldn't. What you would see? Who knows. Is this shield two-way? Would the light passing through it reflect off of what is inside and then return to the viewer unaltered?

If we're simply talking about the shield itself becoming invisible, perhaps. But what of the light coming from the opposing side? Is the tuning of the shield going to allow for this?

Finally, what would this shield do while travelling at the speed of light? :-)

Interesting idea, but at this theoretical stage, full of holes.

Fred Zimmerman


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