The graphic shows a matter wave hitting a Schrodinger’s hat. The wave inside the container is magnified. Outside, the energy waves wrap as if they had never encountered any obstacle. (Gunther Uhlmann/University of Washington)
A new system has been theorized by an international team of mathematicians that could conceal matter in the form of energy waves like sound and light. Called “Schrödinger’s hat,” the name is reminiscent of the quantum mechanical paradox of Schrödinger’s cat and the ability to seemingly conjure up something from nothing.
“In some sense you are doing something magical, because it looks like a particle is being created,” said study corresponding author Gunther Uhlmann at the University of Washington in a press release. “It’s like pulling something out of your hat.”
“You can isolate and magnify what you want to see, and make the rest invisible,” he explained. “You can amplify the waves tremendously.” “And although the wave has been magnified a lot, you still cannot see what is happening inside the container.”
Previously, the researchers have worked together on the math behind meta-materials, such as invisibility cloaks, and wormholes, whereby waves disappear, only to reappear elsewhere. By manipulating the energy waves, the team hopes to create a quantum microscope that can capture quantum waves, such as those in the nanocircuitry of computer chips.
The new system has potential to make different types of energy waves disappear, including longer ones like microwaves and sound.
“From the experimental point of view, I think the most exciting thing is how easy it seems to be to build materials for acoustic cloaking,” Uhlmann said. The next step is to build a prototype. “We hope that it’s feasible, but in science you don’t know until you do it,” Uhlmann concluded.
The findings were published d by The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 19 languages.
