BiotechMashup

(American Physical Society) New experiments show that it's possible to focus light through opaque materials and detect objects hidden behind them, provided you know enough about the material.

Metals are opaque: they reflect light almost completely. For that reason they are utilized as mirrors; as films deposited onto a glass -- you find them in any bathroom. If the metal film is very thin, the mirror is semitransparent. These half-silvered mirrors help to hide surveillance video cameras, for instance. One might think that holes in a metal film enhance the view. Exactly the opposite is true. Physicists discovered that tiny holes actually make the metal opaque.

With a bit of leverage, researchers have used a very tiny beam of light with as little as 1 milliwatt of power to move a silicon structure up to 12 nanometers. That's enough to completely switch the optical properties of the structure from opaque to transparent.

For the first time, scientists have devised an invisibility cloak material that hides objects from detection using light that is visible to humans. The new device is a leap forward in cloaking materials.

(Cornell University) With a bit of leverage, Cornell researchers have used a very tiny beam of light with as little as 1 milliwatt of power to move a silicon structure up to 12 nanometers. That's enough to completely switch the optical properties of the structure from opaque to transparent.

Scientists have demonstrated a promising technique that employs sound waves to boost the distance from which researchers can use terahertz technology to remotely detect hidden explosives, chemicals, and other dangerous materials.

A new imaging system could use opaque walls, doors or floors as "mirrors" to gather information about scenes outside its line of sight.

Comets are icy bodies, yet they are made of materials formed at very high temperatures. Where do these materials come from? Researchers have now provided the physical explanation behind this phenomenon. They have demonstrated how these materials migrated from the hottest parts of the solar system to its outer regions before entering the composition of comets.

Scientists have developed new materials that can detect hard radiation, a very difficult thing to do. The method could lead to a handheld device for detecting nuclear weapons and materials, such as a "nuclear bomb in a suitcase" scenario. The materials perform as well as materials that have emerged from five decades of research and development.