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This is a highly technical paper that won't make sense to most people, but what it discusses is so awesome that I doubt it will matter.

We've all seen the invisibility cloak which functions by diverting waves away from the object being concealed. The system proposed in the above paper applies a similar principle to matter. As in (small) physical objects will be unable to strike the object being concealed. Real life Iron Halo? Probably not, but still cool.

Well that's a natural evolution of the technology-but still absolutely fascinating.

Could somebody provide an idiot's version?

warpcrafter wrote:Could somebody provide an idiot's version?

In some time, 40k players won't need to just look through peep holes to a girls locker room. Sorta like a stealth suit.

brother_zach wrote:
In some time, 40k players won't need to just look through peep holes to a girls locker room. Sorta like a stealth suit.

Its more general than that. An object which 'cloaked' with respect to the matter wave would be non-interactive with respect to matter. Its more like ceasing to exist, than ceasing to be visible.

Slightly more general explanation here.

More on the matter wave here.

dogma wrote:

brother_zach wrote:
In some time, 40k players won't need to just look through peep holes to a girls locker room. Sorta like a stealth suit.

Its more general than that. An object which 'cloaked' with respect to the matter wave would be non-interactive with respect to matter. Its more like ceasing to exist, than ceasing to be visible.

Slightly more general explanation here.

More on the matter wave here.

In that regard, I apologize for my blunt remark. In all seriousness does this mean that they have sucessfully found a way to "destroy" matter? As it is not created nor destroyed.

Also forgive my lack of knoledge in this area, I lean more towards biology.

You can't destroy matter and SONAR works on sound not light.

G

No worries, I'm by no means an expert on physics. Its more of a hobby for me than anything else.

With regard to the destruction of matter: we've known how to do that for some time as the conservation of matter is not the same as the conservation of mass.

dogma wrote:No worries, I'm by no means an expert on physics. Its more of a hobby for me than anything else.

With regard to the destruction of matter: we've known how to do that for some time as the conservation of matter is not the same as the conservation of mass.

Ha well once again my school system is proven wrong. Theyre teaching us that in chemistry. I'm sure its just the lazy way of them avoiding questions from students.

Well, in terms of chemistry its essentially true. The distinction between mass and matter only matters when you start looking at the quantum level.

dogma wrote:Its more general than that. An object which 'cloaked' with respect to the matter wave would be non-interactive with respect to matter. Its more like ceasing to exist, than ceasing to be visible.

I didn't read the links but what happens if you fall over while wearing it? The ground's made of matter right?

Now make it functional for something other than laser computing. If I'm reading this right, the proposed device would just channel matter through itself, though they admit that there are serious physical limitations to actually building one. Sounds like a neat application for space travel if it turns out to be physically possible to actually construct larger than at quantum sizes (which I for some reason am doubtful of).

E = m•C•C

As proven by Einstein. Light is matter albeit at an extremely high wavelength. Now if light could be channeled around an object you would see a noticable visible distortion and I would not call that invisible.

Green Blow Fly wrote:E = m•C•C

As proven by Einstein. Light is matter albeit at an extremely high wavelength. Now if light could be channeled around an object you would see a noticable visible distortion and I would not call that invisible.

Well, light's not exactly matter in the classical sense. Otherwise it would collapse the universe by going lightspeed and having infinite mass.

Quantum mechanics addresses issues such as these.

G

George Spiggott wrote:I didn't read the links but what happens if you fall over while wearing it? The ground's made of matter right?

If the cloak were perfect (ie. functioned across all possible wave-lengths and frequencies), then I imagine you would simply slip through the surface and fall to the Earth's gravitational center. However, the cloak probably won't be perfect, and so is only really useful in terms of manipulating particle beams, and other similar 'objects'.


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ShumaGorath wrote:
Well, light's not exactly matter in the classical sense.

Yeah. Photons have no (discernible) mass, and so are not matter.

Photons are merely one way of describing things we observe about the propagation of electromagnetic radiation. Anyone who has done the Two Slit Interference experiment will be familiar with the concept of light as a wave.

In other words if you're cloaked by this you're basically a ghost.
I can't see it becoming available for people anytime soon as it will likely cause too many medical problems, or atleast have a fair few bugs (like all new technology) causing it to be unsafe. But once it is the weaponry will have to evolve to counter act it as well. That's how we ended up with guns in the first place, armour became too effective for the old method.

The more I think about it the more I believe it's a hoax. If you stand behind something wider and taller no one can see you from that direction. Does that count as being invisible?

G

If they're standing so that they are on the other side of it then, yes. To everyone on the same side, no. But, that's it in it's prototype phase, it will likely be developed into a cloak. If they technology allows it, it will probably become a suit. But, it will likely never be 100% invisibility, but it will likely get close and it will at least make a huge difference as it would work exactly like camouflage but way way better.

But, I'm finding the matter bending one a little more hard to believe than the light bending one. It's probably possible, but it will likely be a very difficult thing to do and have many set backs.

If they're standing so that they are on the other side of it then, yes. To everyone on the same side, no. But, that's it in it's prototype phase, it will likely be developed into a cloak.

Actually it's in "rough scientific paper talking about theoretical applications of concentric rings of cold atoms but admitting the presence of a lot of problems with the possible technology" phase. There are no prototypes.

dogma wrote:

George Spiggott wrote:I didn't read the links but what happens if you fall over while wearing it? The ground's made of matter right?

If the cloak were perfect (ie. functioned across all possible wave-lengths and frequencies), then I imagine you would simply slip through the surface and fall to the Earth's gravitational center. However, the cloak probably won't be perfect, and so is only really useful in terms of manipulating particle beams, and other similar 'objects'.

The way I read the article, it bends matter around itself, so rather than simply not interacting with a person, it would act rather like James Bond's magnet watch, bending the bullets, or othe items, around the wearer.

[edit] Spotted the stealth post hidden in the quote.

Goliath wrote:
The way I read the article, it bends matter around itself, so rather than simply not interacting with a person, it would act rather like James Bond's magnet watch, bending the bullets, or othe items, around the wearer.

Good point, that is a sort of interaction. That said, a perfect cloak would do that to any matter which was in contact with the person. The only thing keeping us from the gravitational center of the Earth is matter.