/ News
The world’s first acoustic invisibility cloak has been created by Duke University
Duke University has built the first 3D omnidirectional acoustic invisibility cloak. The cloaking device, which takes the form of a pyramid of perforated plastic, is hidden from sound waves striking it from any direction — if you fired some sound waves at the device, using sonar for example, you would see nothing; not the cloak, and not the object beneath it. This has obvious applications in the military, but also in architectural acoustics.
Here at ExtremeTech we’ve written a lot about metamaterials — specially fabricated materials that have properties never found in nature — and how they allow for the creation of some seriously outlandish devices, such as invisibility cloaks and superlenses. Metamaterials aren’t necessarily restricted to bending light waves in odd ways, though; they can also be used to manipulate acoustic waves, too.
Case in point: Duke University’s 3D acoustic cloak, which consists of layers of perforated plastic arranged in a pyramidal shape. The exact geometry of the cloak, plus the placement of the holes, very precisely control the propagation and reflection of sound waves. The idea is that, when the cloak is hit by some acoustic waves, it alters the trajectory of the waves so that it’s as if the cloak and the cloaked object were never there.
If you imagine the Duke cloak sitting on the ground, and sound waves moving straight down towards it, they would be reflected by the cloak in such a way that it appears that they’ve bounced off the floor. As you can see in the diagram below, the cloaking is not quite perfect (compare Ground to Cloak), but it’s pretty good for an experimental prototype.
The leader of the project, Duke University’s Steven Cummer, says, despite the cloak’s rudimentary appearance, “We put a lot of energy into calculating how sound waves would interact with it. We didn’t come up with this overnight.” He doesn’t go into details, but there was probably a lot of computer modeling, with different sized holes and geometric arrangements. [Research paper: doi:10.1038/nmat3901 - "Three-dimensional broadband omnidirectional acoustic ground cloak"]
Just your usual creepy shot of a researcher trying to look mesmerized by his latest creation.
Moving forward, Cummer says there are obvious military applications. ”We conducted our tests in the air, but sound waves behave similarly underwater, so one obvious potential use is sonar avoidance.” Imagine, if you will, underwater mines that cannot be detected due to acoustic cloaking. There could also be interesting civil applications, too — architectural acoustics are a very important factor when designing any kind of space, whether it’s an office or an auditorium. If a structural component — a beam, a window, a door — is getting in the way of the acoustics, you could just shield it.
Source: http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/178362-the-worlds-first-acoustic-invisibility-cloak-has-been-created-by-duke-university
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Founded by Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov in February 2011 with the participation of leading Russian specialists in the field of neural interfaces, robotics, artificial organs and systems.
The main goals of the 2045 Initiative: the creation and realization of a new strategy for the development of humanity which meets global civilization challenges; the creation of optimale conditions promoting the spiritual enlightenment of humanity; and the realization of a new futuristic reality based on 5 principles: high spirituality, high culture, high ethics, high science and high technologies.
The main science mega-project of the 2045 Initiative aims to create technologies enabling the transfer of a individual’s personality to a more advanced non-biological carrier, and extending life, including to the point of immortality. We devote particular attention to enabling the fullest possible dialogue between the world’s major spiritual traditions, science and society.
A large-scale transformation of humanity, comparable to some of the major spiritual and sci-tech revolutions in history, will require a new strategy. We believe this to be necessary to overcome existing crises, which threaten our planetary habitat and the continued existence of humanity as a species. With the 2045 Initiative, we hope to realize a new strategy for humanity's development, and in so doing, create a more productive, fulfilling, and satisfying future.
The "2045" team is working towards creating an international research center where leading scientists will be engaged in research and development in the fields of anthropomorphic robotics, living systems modeling and brain and consciousness modeling with the goal of transferring one’s individual consciousness to an artificial carrier and achieving cybernetic immortality.
An annual congress "The Global Future 2045" is organized by the Initiative to give platform for discussing mankind's evolutionary strategy based on technologies of cybernetic immortality as well as the possible impact of such technologies on global society, politics and economies of the future.
Future prospects of "2045" Initiative for society
2015-2020
The emergence and widespread use of affordable android "avatars" controlled by a "brain-computer" interface. Coupled with related technologies “avatars’ will give people a number of new features: ability to work in dangerous environments, perform rescue operations, travel in extreme situations etc.
Avatar components will be used in medicine for the rehabilitation of fully or partially disabled patients giving them prosthetic limbs or recover lost senses.
2020-2025
Creation of an autonomous life-support system for the human brain linked to a robot, ‘avatar’, will save people whose body is completely worn out or irreversibly damaged. Any patient with an intact brain will be able to return to a fully functioning bodily life. Such technologies will greatly enlarge the possibility of hybrid bio-electronic devices, thus creating a new IT revolution and will make all kinds of superimpositions of electronic and biological systems possible.
2030-2035
Creation of a computer model of the brain and human consciousness with the subsequent development of means to transfer individual consciousness onto an artificial carrier. This development will profoundly change the world, it will not only give everyone the possibility of cybernetic immortality but will also create a friendly artificial intelligence, expand human capabilities and provide opportunities for ordinary people to restore or modify their own brain multiple times. The final result at this stage can be a real revolution in the understanding of human nature that will completely change the human and technical prospects for humanity.
2045
This is the time when substance-independent minds will receive new bodies with capacities far exceeding those of ordinary humans. A new era for humanity will arrive! Changes will occur in all spheres of human activity – energy generation, transportation, politics, medicine, psychology, sciences, and so on.
Today it is hard to imagine a future when bodies consisting of nanorobots will become affordable and capable of taking any form. It is also hard to imagine body holograms featuring controlled matter. One thing is clear however: humanity, for the first time in its history, will make a fully managed evolutionary transition and eventually become a new species. Moreover, prerequisites for a large-scale expansion into outer space will be created as well.
Key elements of the project in the future
• International social movement
• social network immortal.me
• charitable foundation "Global Future 2045" (Foundation 2045)
• scientific research centre "Immortality"
• business incubator
• University of "Immortality"
• annual award for contribution to the realization of the project of "Immortality”.
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