New Metamaterial a 'Perfect' Absorber of Light

User rating: 4.5 / 5 after 70 vote(s)

Researchers have engineered a metamaterial that uses tiny geometric surface features to successfully capture the electric and magnetic properties of a microwave to the point of total absorption. Image courtesy of Boston College
Researchers have engineered a metamaterial that uses tiny geometric surface features to successfully capture the electric and magnetic properties of a microwave to the point of total absorption. Image courtesy of Boston College

A team of scientists from Boston College and Duke University has developed a highly-engineered metamaterial capable of absorbing all of the light that strikes it – to a scientific standard of perfection – they report in Physical Review Letters.


Full story »
All News summaries from Physics news
All News summaries for June 03, 2008

Researchers team up to probe iron-arsenic superconductors with new instrument

Oct 10, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory are part of collaborative team that's used a brand new instrument at the DOE's Spallation Neutron Source to probe iron-arsenic compounds, the "hottest" new find ...

New spintronics effect could lead to magnetic batteries

Oct 10, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists have recently discovered that heating one side of a magnetized nickel-iron rod causes electrons to rearrange themselves according to their spins. This so-called "spin Seebeck effect" ...

Ripple effect: Water snails offer new propulsion possibilities

Oct 09, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- A UC San Diego engineer has revealed a new mode of propulsion based on how water snails create ripples of slime to crawl upside down beneath the surface.

Spallation Neutron Source sends first neutrons to 'Big Bang' beam line

Oct 09, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
New analytical tools coming on line at the Spallation Neutron Source, the Department of Energy's state-of-the-art neutron science facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, include a beam line dedicated to ...

Cosmic strings might emit cosmic sparks, answer cosmological questions

Oct 09, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- For astronomers, understanding what happened in the early moments of the universe could answer many questions in physics and astronomy. One possible player in the early universe is cosmic strings, which arise ...
Goto Archive PhysOrg Forum Goto Archive Video Goto Archive Editorials Goto Archive Free Magazines Goto Archive Newsletter

News Archive