Sonic cloaking technology has been unveiled by scientists that could be used to completely soundproof homes, concert halls, or even stealth ships. The technology has been under development for some time but the fantastically named acoustic cloaks have hit stumbling blocks in the finding of the most suitable materials.
A new technology can typically be judged on how cool the names sound, so the use of sonic crystals to create the acoustic cloak makes this an awesome technology. The sonic crystals essentially divert sound waves around the object that is being cloaked making it inaudible from anywhere outside the cloak.
It would take approximately 200 layers to make an object completely silent, but in specific applications it is possible to greatly reduce this number and only shield against very specific sound waves. However, for all the noises being made about the acoustic cloak, the technology has thus far only been proved in simulations.
A Spanish team of scientists responsible for the sonic cloaking theory now intend to move onto real life laboratory testing, and actually creating an acoustic cloak. Despite it’s Lord of the Rings sounding name, the thickness of the impervious material means that some optimisation is required before it can be applied to most practical uses.
