DARPA at it again - invisibility cloak

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1501AP_Invisibility_Cloak.html

At the end of the article, Pendry says it will be more of a shield than a cloak.


The reference that DARPA supported the research , which I figure means they funded it, is tucked in near the end, rather than mentioned prominently, maybe because they were hoping people wouldn't notice it.

Every time I see an article referencing them (remember the walking gait people analysis anyone?) I wonder what they're up to that we don't hear about.

edited to add link - oopsy

Sid

I did forget it. :blush:
Have added it now.

As a scientist, I almost always put the funding party at the end of the article, abstract, poster...whatever it is I'm working on. It's common procedure.

This is an AP article. Sorry, I forgot to add the link at first.

how long before they develope the Marauder's Map that will shop us where Osama is hiding.:sarcasm:

it probably won't be long.
Here's an oldie, but goodie from them: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/21/1053196618106.html

I always wonder what what could be developed if we put this brain power, imagination and funding toward developing a replacement for combustion engines.

actually go. I see these things as beards for black ops, frankly.

a lot more sense than some of their funded projects which have been reported.

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

An old friend (pre-k thru college) flitted from graduate EE to Med School back to graduate EE and back again to Med School - ended up getting an MD degree and a PhD in electrical engineering. (He has never been a clinician - doesn't like "sickies")

His EE dissertation topic was a set of DSP (Digital signal processing) models of neural feed back (vision, prehensile grasp, etc). At that time I asked him what the "practical result" would be - he replied "smart prosthesis" and "restoring sight" - if you can shrink the computer. This was in the water cooled, raised floor, glass room, discrete device era of computers (before the integrated circuit and the pc).

The smart prosthesis is here -- and posthetc vision is not that far in the future.

Never assume static science. Give bright, creative people a challenge and money - and you get a solution.

After all, they actually did most of the design work on the original internets, including the protocols that are still used today.

http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/clark88design.html

Just sayin'. :shrug:

VHDL/Verilog, photovoltaics, NiMH batteries, Li-Ion batteries, fuel cells, flat panel displays, composites, cryogenic materials, TCP/IP, Unix, etc.

And a great example of how an agency like DARPA can use their creative energy and large financing to create something which ultimately benefits everyone.
Then an administration like our current one comes along and agencies get steered in different directions.
And it's a loss to all of us, not just in terms of what they are studying and funding, but in terms of what they could be, especially based on past successes like the one you brought up. Thanks for this reminder.

Bushco whoring turns potential backers and potential beneficiaries against an agency like DARPA.

I have had DARPA funding for some of my alternative energy work - DARPA "built" photovoltaics - before there was a SERI

Coastie (PhD)

"Such a cloak does not exist, but early versions that could mask microwaves and other forms of electromagnetic radiation could be as close as 18 months away, Pendry said. He said the study was "an invitation to come and play with these new ideas."


TACHI laboratory of the University of Tokyo's invisibility cloak

whether a "UFO" my cousin and I saw last summer (at 1 o'clock in the afternoon) was a some kind of aircraft with a cloaking device. What we saw resembled a "gray hole" in the blue sky. Then, just before it disappeared behind some clouds we saw a red glow on the trailing edge that looked like a reflection of the sun and this was in the right spot to actually be a reflection from the sun. If it really was a cloaking device, it was either an imperfect one or malfunctioning, because we could see it.

I read an article a few years ago about research into cloaking, but this current article makes it sound like it is something new. If research has already been done under military contract, you can be sure they want to keep the results to themselves.