Scientists at Duke University in North Carolina have come up with a way to make objects invisible to sound waves, which could possibly lead to the development of ships that are undetectable by sonar. Described as an “invisibility cloak” for sound waves, the technique involves surrounding an object with several layers of plastic plates, each with holes in a specific pattern. The pattern of holes causes the reflected sound waves to behave as if there were nothing but empty space where the object is. Theoretically, sonar hitting the cloaked object wouldn’t detect a thing. “Fundamentally, in terms of hiding objects, it’s the same—how anything is sensed is with some kind of wave and you either hear or see the effect of it,” said Dr. Steven Cummer, leader of the research team. “But when it comes to building the materials, things are very different between acoustics and electromagnetics.” The cloaking device has limits. For one, it can only render the object invisible to sound coming from a single direction, so it’s not ready to get built into the Navy’s frigates just yet. But that limit could be overcome with more study and improved engineering.Learn more from PC Magazine.
Acoustic Cloaking Device Could Make Ships Invisible to Sonar
