| HOME >> BIOLOGY >> TECHNOLOGY |
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A new research field called transformation optics may usher in a host of radical advances including a cloak of invisibility and ultra-powerful microscopes and computers by harnessing nanotechnology and "metamaterials."
The field, which applies mathematical principles similar to those in Einstein's theory of general relativity, will be described in an article to be published Friday (Oct. 17) in the journal Science. The article will appear in the magazine's Perspectives section and was written by Vladimir Shalaev, Purdue's Robert and Anne Burnett Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The list of possible breakthroughs includes a cloak of invisibility; computers and consumer electronics that use light instead of electronic signals to process information; a "planar hyperlens" that could make optical microscopes 10 times more powerful and able to see objects as small as DNA; advanced sensors; and more efficient solar collectors.
"Transformation optics is a new way of manipulating and controlling light at all distances, from the macro- to the nanoscale, and it represents a new paradigm for the science of light," Shalaev said. "Although there were early works that helped to develop the basis for transformation optics, the field was only recently established thanks in part to papers by Sir John Pendry at the Imperial College, London, and Ulf Leonhardt at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and their co-workers."
Current optical technologies are limited because, for the efficient control of light, components cannot be smaller than the size of the wavelengths of light. Transformation optics sidesteps this limitation using a new class of materials, or metamaterials, which are able to guide and control light on all scales, including the scale of nanometers, or billionths of a meter.
"The whole idea behind metamaterials is to create materials designed and engineered ou
'/>"/>
| Contact: Emil Venere venere@purdue.edu 765-494-4709 Purdue University Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology technology :
1. Swedish in Seattle Unveils State-of-the-Art Brain Tumor Center Combining Advanced Treatment With Innovation in Research
2. Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute Hosts First-Ever International Forum on Memory and Memory Disorders and Dedicates New $30 Million Research Facility
3. MedImmune Expands R&D Capacity with New Research Facility in Cambridge, U.K.
4. David H. Murdock Research Institute Taps Waters for Laboratory Technology
5. Vineland Welcomes Dr. Daryl Somers as Research Chair, Molecular Breeding and Biotechnology
6. Michael J. Fox Foundation Awards $2 Million Grant From EMD Serono to Research Projects on Cognitive Deficits in Parkinsons Disease
7. Researchers write protein nanoarrays using a fountain pen and electric fields
8. MRI Expands Energy Role: Launches Center for Integrated Algal Research and Creates Director of Energy Programs Position
9. eResearchTechnology, Inc. to Announce 2008 Third Quarter Results on October 30, 2008
10. CPA Acquires Renowned German Patent Research Specialist, SVPG
11. Sigma-Aldrich and the University of Illinois Offer New Boronic Acid Surrogates to Researchers Worldwide Through Licensing Agreement
 |
| Copyright © 2003-2012 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |