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A Path To Perfect Lenses?

Posted by timothy on from the sounds-like-a-dream dept.

Johan writes: "The Economist is reporting that a British scientist has invented a way to make perfect lenses. Previously, the smallest feature a lens could resolve has been limited by half the wavelength of the radiation used (for light this is in the millionths of a metre range ... very small but not good enough for many applications). With perfect lenses, this limit has been eliminated."

5 of 74 comments (clear)

  1. Argh... by bcrowell · · Score: 5
    I'm a physics professor, so when this stuff about negative indices of refraction first came out, I spent lots of time explaining to people that it didn't really allow faster-than-light transmission of information, time travel, etc. Unfortunately I don't have a subscription to Phys Rev Letters, and Pendry doesn't seem to have posted a preprint to the arXiv.org preprint server. But let's not go crazy about possible applications without some more information.

    In general, Slashdot has a tendency to post a lot of science articles without sufficient context, and when you find out what's really going on, it's just pathetic.Once again, we have a large number of Slashdotters wasting their time speculating about a short article in an online publication that doesn't even specialize in science, and doesn't have any outgoing links to more detailed information. If someone submitted something to Slashdot on a computer topic with this little context or linkage to detailed info, it would get rejected.

    As far as photolithography, there are plenty of theoretical methods for making small circuits: e.g. use shorter wavelengths of light, or use mechanical methods rather than optical ones (such as dragging atoms around with a device like the stylus of an STM microscope). Adding one more theoretical method is no reason to think that Intel is actually going to build the thing tomorrow.

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  2. Not an invention, a theory by iElucidate · · Score: 5
    The scientist in this case has hypothesized that, like antimatter, there can exist an anti-refraction index, a refraction of a negative value. By using special materials that change the angle of refraction so that refracted light is actually reflected through the surface onto the other side, instead of bounced off, lenses can have more accurate readings of smaller wavelengths.

    So far, scientists at UCSD have developed ways to use this idea to focus microwaves in an MRI machine. Although those waves are in the 1 meter range, this method allows them to be more accurately focused on smaller areas. X-rays have also been observed with this method. However, visible light has not yet, and probably won't for a while.

    The reason that this method is so valuable is because it removes distortion and allows precision optics to bypass a physical limit that has been hampering us for years. We'll see how quickly chip makers and others can capitalize on this technology to make better circuits.

  3. Better vision for tiny fonts by Vic · · Score: 5

    Does this mean I will finally be able to read the horribly small fonts in some of the stories that Slashdot links to? :-)

  4. The facts by Sara+Chan · · Score: 5
    The original paper was published in Physical Review Letters . It is available here, but only the abstract is available to non-subscribers.

    At present there is just the theory to make such "superlenses". No such lenses have actually been built.

    In principle, superlenses can be made for most any electromagnetic radiation. In practice, finding materials with the right refractive index is going to be difficult. So far, there seem to be materials that will properly handle microwaves, radiowaves, and maybe visible light. The authors have this to say:

    Such "superlenses" can be realized in the microwave band with current technology. Our simulations show that a version of the lens operating at the frequency of visible light can be realized in the form of a thin slab of silver. This optical version resolves objects only a few nanometers across.
  5. Get Your Perfect Lense Material NOW by Hrunting · · Score: 5

    As the article states, no known material with a negative refraction index exists for the optical range. Au contraire. No solid material exists, but there is one liquid.

    Beer.

    And they already have lenses made of beer that you can try on TODAY. All you need to do is go down to your local pub, drink a good, oh, I dunno, 7 or 8 beers (varies depending on body weight, height, experience with such lenses, etc.) and then look around. You'll notice that everything seems just a little bit clearer; not just clearer, but better. Women (or men), who you couldn't make out before because the distortion caused by normal light activity rendered them hideous, are now showing their true features: beauty, sexuality, interest in YOU.

    Beer 'goggles' (as these lense instruments are affectionately known, although heavens knows why; you can't even see them) don't just make your vision clearer, either. They make everything clearer and better: thought, sexual ability, golf scores, you name it! And the great thing is, beer has been used for millenia, so you know that any potentially damaging side effects[1] have already been worked out.

    So don't believe the rubbish you read in the papers. Get your perfect lenses today at your local bar or pub[2]!

    [1] Some people may have adverse reactions to beer including nausea, vomiting, dehydration, a condition known as 'hangover', decreased sexual ability, loss of vocal restraint, diarrhea, and social retardation. This is not beer's fault. It's the people's fault.

    [2] Beer should not be consumed by pregnant women, people with heart conditions, people on heroin, cocaine, Tylenol, or any number of other drugs, or alcoholics currently enrolled in court-ordered rehabilitation program.