British Navy working on making ships invisible
Do you see the ship in the picture? No? That’s because scientists at the Britannia Royal Navy College are working on a technology that can make ships invisible.
The scientists are trying to use metamaterials, which can refract light in such a way that it bends around an object, to make the ships seem as if they were never there. Of course, running into an invisible ship is a whole different story – it will most definitely still be there.
This technology would only make the ships invisible to the naked eye. Researchers are also working on eliminating the ship from radar and heat-seeking missile targeting systems using nanomaterials. To top it off, they want the ships to be completely quiet and impossible to detect based on their impact on the Earth’s magnetic field. That’s some serious stealth.
The technologies used in this research are extremely advanced and nowhere near ready. However, they could lead to some interesting fleets (perhaps even planes can join in on the fun) that would completely redefine the way we wage war. It will be interesting to see if and when this technology can be made possible.
Tags: invisibility cloak, invisible, light, metamaterials, nanomaterials, ship
March 4th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Is there really a ship there?
I don’t think so
March 18th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Very interesting! This is reminiscent of the work the U.S. Navy was supposed to have done in the 1940s as described in the book, “The Philadelphia Experiment”. Do you have any references to other material on this?
April 3rd, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Perfect. This ship can kill people with its weapons AND when a cruise ship crashes into it.
March 4th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
March 5th, 2008 at 3:38 am