Posted on 03/01/2007 5:08:54 PM PST by LibWhacker
Thats the way it works. The more you reflect the brighter you are(visibly)
They don't mention it, but it sounds like this stuff could have some great deer hunting applications. Non reflective camo!
It's very strange... They say it's very nearly both a black body, which means it doesn't reflect any light (at any wavelength, they add) AND it's index of refraction is nearly that of air (which to me means that it's almost totally transparent and doesn't deflect light very much as light passes through it)???? Huh, lol? Very strange stuff!
No, I think they would effectively be black since color is relected light at various wavelenghts and black is the absence of color.
Very true. I suppose something like that would look like a 'black hole' of sorts.
In a similar vein, here is a silica based substance that has an extremely low rate of thermal transmission because its composed mostly of air...Silica Aerogel
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=399812&page=1
"A superlight solid called aerogel, which has been used to insulate rovers rolling around Mars and to cushion the impact of comet dust penetrating a speeding spacecraft, has recently been tapped by those in the business of keeping people warm."
Not necessarily. You need to know over what wavelength range the coating is ultra-non-reflective. The wavelengths of radar and light differ by something like half-a-dozen orders of magnitude.
So like, I've never seen light reflect off of black velvet either.
The technique allows the researchers to strongly reduce or even eliminate reflection at all wavelengths and incoming angles of light, Schubert said. Conventional anti-reflection coatings, although widely used, work only at a single wavelength and when the light source is positioned directly perpendicular to the material.
It's index of refraction is nearly that of air Only means that air is a near perfect conduit for the transmission of light. But it isnt. atmospherics change the transmission of light. Space would be a great conduit. but its expensive to conduct experiments in space. Hell its expensive here on earth.
But if they found a substance that absorbs light it would allow a way of isolating the source and reciever from colorations that we normally percieve. This could open ways to develop secure systems of light based communication. It could allow is to study certain light phenomena and measure source signatures or it could simply be used in a cloaking scenario as has been stated earlier.
Its pretty amazing stuff really.
On the idea of reflected light, consider a hall of mirrors at a fun house. well the world can be a fun house that way. what we "see" isnt always representative of reality.
I percieve this Nanostuff as a way to take away the mirrors and confusion allowing accurate measurements of light.
It would come off as heat; with enough light the velvet would warm up and you could feel it radiating. Not so with a black body, I'm guessing. A black body doesn't give off any radiation that's incident on it. At least that's how I understand it. It's very weird though, I'll give 'ya that!
I want my car painted in it so that it will absorb all the radar. :)
Maybe something like this is already being used by the military. When a stealth fighter crashed in a suburban neighborhood during an air show in MD a few years back, the military closed the neighborhood, keeping the residents out until all the debris was picked up. Obviously there was more to that plane than the weird shape and composite structure--something they don't want anyone to know. Let's hope the NY Slimes doesn't find out and leak the secret.
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BTTT for later reread.
:') Thanks for the ping, leilani, although I almost tripped over it, it suddenly got really dark in here...
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