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Magnetic field cloaking
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 1:48 pm
by Skipjack
http://www.gizmag.com/invisibility-cloa ... ity/12268/
The article headline is of course fishing for attention, as so often, when these metamaterials are the topic. However I do wonder whether shielding like that could have applications in a polywell reactor (or even a Hirsch Farnsworth reactor). Though I am not quite sure how I would apply it.
Thoughts?
Re: Magnetic field cloaking
Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 7:48 pm
by D Tibbets
Skipjack wrote:http://www.gizmag.com/invisibility-cloa ... ity/12268/
The article headline is of course fishing for attention, as so often, when these metamaterials are the topic. However I do wonder whether shielding like that could have applications in a polywell reactor (or even a Hirsch Farnsworth reactor). Though I am not quite sure how I would apply it.
Thoughts?
I don't know if the effects can be extended to X- ray and gamma ray frequencies, (or handle the intensity) but if so, I can see them being used to shield (rather than hide) structures from the damaging effects of these radiations. Some fusion schemes (laser inertial confinement) use x-rays to heat the fuel. If a metamaterial could focus these otherwise very difficult to focus wavelegths (with conventional optics) and survive the harsh envirnment long enough, they may be useful. If the metamaterial's negative index of refraction is similar in magnitude to the wavelength dependent positive index of refraction of regular optics, it is probably of negligable usefullness at these short wavelenghts.*
* Look at the convolutions they have to go through with mirrors in the X-ray telescopes to obtain focus.
Dan Tibbets