3D printed designs with cloaking technologies and possible applications

Imagine a vehicle or structure, powered by nonflammable metamaterial gold/lithium batteries, built using a spider design 3D printer that uses silk nano-fibers, then encased in permeable acrylic, capable of bending both visible and infrared light, undetectable to the naked eye, sonar and radar, housed with cloaking microchip software, and carrying a metamaterial superlens that can utilize microscopic and telescopic magnification, and is rechargeable wirelessly.

Fan-freaking-tastic, right?!!!

Ok ATSers, check out these links.

www.iop.org...

www.extremetech.com...

charlotte.cbslocal.com...

3dprintingindustry.com...

www.nature.com...

www.faqs.org...

I am just beginning to piece together how these scientific advances will be used for military application, specifically drone application and bases or structures. Important to note, the sonar technology is heading towards underwater applications, but not there yet.

We know that cheaper alternate housing is a new market for 3D printing, and small structures can be printed in 24-48 hours. Just search it, you will see, or I will provide the link later for those who want the convenience.

I am aware this is a lot of material to cover. I am pressed for time, and I will pull excerpts as needed for discussion, but for now, I would ask the interested read the articles and begin hypothesizing what applications, military or civilian these technologies could be combined for. Please, do not post cellphone, computer, etc., because they are already known applications. I took the military application stance because of their budget and probability that these technologies could be combined for surveillance or anti-surveillance.

I am very curious as to any other possible imaginative applications in regards to bio-medicine, space, and energy dispersion.

More to come during the coming week, but I leave you with this as a side bar, I wonder how many of these components were aboard MH Flight 370? Lithium batteries, gold, silk, cloaking software, acrylic, and the minds to apply it all together?

Damn that # really works I couldn't see your thread at all.

ETA: I see we not only have some content but, an overload of it. Looks like it's going to take some time togo through this so I'll be back with some ideas after I've digested some of it.

Some interesting thread you have here.


Ill edit when you get some content. :-p

Boscov

Awesome....

(Methinks there may be an edit in our future?....)

reply to post by Boscov


Obviously, only printing clothes for the Emperor...

Will add content when OP is not invisible.

Des

Well since the title is here I may as well fill in the blank. Not exactly what the title portrays though.

"It allows the waves that hit the structure to travel around it, and then re-radiates it back," Urzhumov explained in an email to The Huffington Post. "So you can look at it from any angle ... and still see no evidence that the cloaked structure is there."

As Medical Daily notes, Duke researchers first successfully tested the invisibility cloak in 2006. At the time, the metamaterial became "invisible" in only two dimensions under microwave beams of light.

Since then, researchers have improved upon the design, removing the shadow effect present in earlier models and magnifying the technology so it can cover larger objects. Urzhumov said the size of typical 3D-printing chambers limit the cloak to an 8-inch diameter, but larger cloaks could conceivably be created by printing separate 8-inch blocks and connecting them together.

Those interested in wielding the power of invisibility, however, shouldn't get too excited -- not just yet, anyway.

While the design's enhancements are significant, the invisibility cloak still lacks the ability to make an object or person "completely invisible" to the naked eye, Urzhumov said.

"This cloaking device makes an object 'invisible' for microwaves with certain frequencies," he explained to HuffPost. "In the visible light, and even other microwave bands, this particular structure has no cloaking effect."

link

gizmag
kurzweilai
Tech Hive
extremetech

reply to post by Kukri


Sorry, I accidentally hit enter on my laptop before I could enter content. It is viewable now. Too funny though, like I made the post invisible, funny accidental coincidence! Oh well, now it is there for all to see, de-cloaked.

Boscov
reply to post by Kukri

 

Sorry, I accidentally hit enter on my laptop before I could enter content. It is viewable now. Too funny though, like I made the post invisible, funny accidental coincidence! Oh well, now it is there for all to see, de-cloaked.

Perhaps if they'd have changed the frequency with which they viewed your post, they could see through the metamaterials?

I totally agree that a convergence of these technologies makes EM (possibly including frequencies as high as light) cloaking possible right now. Although the cloaked object would be invisible, the cloaking tech would, in all likelihood, be large and itself difficult to hide. My belief is that a system to optically cloak an aircraft would also interfere with the functionality of aerodnamic surfaces, and therefore would not be likely.

Despite that, there may be other technologies, not published to the world, which would enable such tech.

We definitely live in interesting times!

chr0naut
My belief is that a system to optically cloak an aircraft would also interfere with the functionality of aerodnamic surfaces, and therefore would not be likely.

Also, what happens when the cloaked aircraft becomes covered in moisture from clouds? Land based cloaked vehicles would become visible once dust settled on them.

I think they've got a long way to go with this tech.

VoidHawk

chr0naut
My belief is that a system to optically cloak an aircraft would also interfere with the functionality of aerodnamic surfaces, and therefore would not be likely.

Also, what happens when the cloaked aircraft becomes covered in moisture from clouds? Land based cloaked vehicles would become visible once dust settled on them.

I think they've got a long way to go with this tech.

Particulate contamination could be solved by a positive electrostatic charge.

Condensation, by air-flow and thermal means (which would give the whole thing a thermal signature and perhaps the thermal offset could be "hidden" by giving the metamaterial array a negative radiant thermal output to compensate for element heating). I'd still say that part of the tech would be do-able, just the size and invisibility of the tech itself is an issue.

reply to post by chr0naut


Great insight, thanks. Here is another link that addresses transparent batteries:

www.technologyreview.com...

I agree size and the actual tech is the issue, but it seems that only extended recharge range and cloaking the batteries/tech are the main issues. They are definitely on top of it.

reply to post by Boscov


does anyone know if any of these possibilities can be built using a MakerBot replicator 5th gen 3D printer? i recently preordered one, and it should be here in a few days since it will be released tomorrow, so i'm incredibly interested in this.

reply to post by GreenManXphile


The 3D printer is not the key. The metamaterials and patterns are. Plus, you would have to procure enough specific silk and acrylic to begin with. Then there is the issue of nonflammable, transparent gold/lithium ion batteries or flow cells and the microchip tech to control.

But yes, if you read the articles, and research patents, plus have the intellect and resources, your printer could make a small structure or model vehicle of sort. It does not have to fly, drive, or float. I would be amazed if any civilian could make a box with a power source that could cloak and de-cloak, invisible to the eye, radar, sonar, infrared at the flip of a switch.

It is awesome tech.

reply to post by Boscov


Thanks for the reply! do you know if those materials would be compatible with this model, and/or where i could procure them? if its possible, and i can figure out how to do it, i'd be more than happy to take video and show the process for you and whoever else here would like to see it.

those articles all sound more than exciting enough to peak my interests, and i really want to see it for myself, and show it to you good people as well if i can.

GreenManXphile
reply to post by Boscov

 

Thanks for the reply! do you know if those materials would be compatible with this model, and/or where i could procure them? if its possible, and i can figure out how to do it, i'd be more than happy to take video and show the process for you and whoever else here would like to see it.

those articles all sound more than exciting enough to peak my interests, and i really want to see it for myself, and show it to you good people as well if i can.

Metamaterials are usually fabricated at a microscopic scale. For optical, at a nano scale. A normal consumer 3D printer could could produce metamaterials that would affect solography and sonar, but its smallest unit would be too large to do optical and microwave metamaterials (due to the high frequencies and therefore short wavelengths of their oscillations).

Nonetheless, a consumer 3D printer could model the metamaterial structures so that one could, perhaps, experiment with macro-scale metamaterials for audio purposes.

I also forsee commercial applications of the tech. Imagine, if you will, a metamaterial printed wall for a recording studio that had TOTAL nonreflective properties, or similar for a car muffler that totally eliminates noise. Lighter and more effective!

I'm sure it is just a matter of time before audio metamaterials, printed as modular "bricks" or panels, come to commercial relevance. Perhaps you could be an initiator?