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Quantum Cloaking Makes Molecules Invisible

Posted by kdawson on from the can-you-see-me-now dept.

KentuckyFC writes "An international team of physicists has applied the ideas of cloaking to the quantum world and worked out how to hide quantum objects such as molecules. In the quantum world, seeing is equivalent to detecting a quantum object. In the case of molecules, that means looking for the terahertz radiation they produce when they vibrate (abstract). By designing a 'quantum corral,' an elliptical nanostructures that absorbs terahertz waves at a precise frequency, the team says it is possible to hide molecules that emit at exactly that frequency. They say their quantum corral would be ideally suited to detecting molecules of specific species while ignoring others. And that may mean a new generation of molecular detectors on the horizon."

4 of 118 comments (clear)

  1. Lord have mercy! by moniker127 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Last week they announced the first laser cannon, now we're working on the base technology for tricorders? Maybe startrek IS an accurate timeline.

    1. Re:Lord have mercy! by girlintraining · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Two things sugar. First, I am a "chick", and I've been able to get them for awhile. Second, as you said, Spock referred to the Eugenics Wars in Space Seed as "the last of your so-called world wars" -- so what you're going on about is an minor plot inconsistency. zomfg! An inconsistency in Star Trek canon? Like THAT's never happened before. So about my geek card? No, not yours. And just so we're clear... Yes, there are fangirls for TOS. We're all gay though so don't get your hopes up little boy. ;) We're also responsible for most of the spock/mccoy slashfic out there.

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  2. Strange Idea I had... by NoobixCube · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I know almost nothing about quantum mechanics, so correct me if I'm wrong. On this scale, isn't observation interaction? Would preventing observation also prevent interaction with what is inside the cloak? How would the cloak behave if you tried to detect what's in it with a laser (or something)?

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    Admit it. You post strawman arguments as AC so you get modded Insightful for refuting them, rather than Troll
  3. The real challenge in cloaking by hoytak · · Score: 4, Interesting

    is the engineering. I recently attended a talk where the speaker presented a theoretical way to completely cloak a large object (i.e. person, car, etc.). It was possible to completely prevent detection within a reasonable range of the visible spectrum. (I don't think it's been published yet, or I'd post a link.) The assumption was that the object was surrounded by a material in which you had complete control of the metric space properties, i.e. the propagation coefficient of light at each point. Now there's a challenge for the engineers...

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