Concept (via Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona)
Slowly but surely, the cloaking devices seen on almost every sci-fi show in existence are becoming a reality. Sure we can’t actually hide a Klingon Warbird (we haven’t figured out how to build one yet), but we can do the next best thing, cloaking objects from magnetic fields. A collaboration with researchers from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (Spain) and the Institute of Electrical Engineering (Slovakia) have designed a special cylinder that is able to hide objects from magnetic fields.
The research team was able to build the device using a super-conductor material encased in iron, nickel and chrome (chrome for style?). There are two main layers. One is a superconductor that reflects magnetic fields, while the other ferromagnetic layer attracts the same fields. Anything placed inside a cylinder of the composite materials will be undetectable. Think of it as being able to bend a magnetic field around an object. Theoretically you could pass through a metal detector at an airport with anything that could fit inside the cloaking tube undetected. That is until security notices the liquid nitrogen vapor (used for the superconductor) coming off the metallic cylinder. All kidding aside, the technology could be adapted for use in the medical field to shield pacemakers or other implants from magnetic resonance tests, as well as a host of other applications.
Cabe
Engineering On Friday shows the military application for this tech.
