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| Researchers have created an acoustic cloaking material that guides sound waves around the hidden object. |
A new material that bends and twists sound waves could allow stealth submarines to evade underwater sonar.
The material essentially tricks the sonar — a system used to identify underwater objects by analyzing the differences between the emitted sound waves and the returning waves, which have bounced off of the submarine, for example. About the shape and size of a compact disc, the material is made up of concentric rings that guide sound waves around its surface. When an object is placed in the center hole of the two-dimensional disc, sound waves move around it as if it weren’t there and re-form on the other side of the object without being distorted. The material is in effect invisible to sound.
Acoustic invisibility cloaks have been theorized in the past, but this is the first time one has been constructed in the lab. While this is an exciting step, there's still a long way to go before it could be used to add high-tech stealth to military submarines, Fang said. Other applications for this technology include shielding medical devices and sensors from sound interference and soundproofing products.
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