Post by patrickm on Jan 8, 2012 1:55:04 GMT -6
So, what is a "€œtemporal cloak" anyway?
skullsinthestars.com/2012/01/07/so-what-is-a-temporal-cloak-anyway/
From Skulls in the Stars:
I’ve been saying for a few years that optical science has entered a truly remarkable new era: instead of asking the question, “What are the physical limitations on what light can do?â€ÂÂ, we are now asking, “How can we make light do whatever we want it to do?†Among other things, we can make light travel “faster than light“, we can focus light through a highly scattering material, we can take high-resolution pictures with low-resolution sensors, and even make particles “fly†on a “wind†of light!
Inevitably, though, many of these discoveries get misinterpreted in popular news accounts to the point that their real significance is lost in a haze of science fictional, or even supernatural, hype. A good example of this is the “picosecond camera†that I described last week, which is an amazing achievement but also possesses a number of technical limitations that make it not quite a “camera†in the ordinary sense of the word.
This week, the experimental realization* of a “space-time cloak†or “temporal cloak†by researchers at Cornell University has made national news. This novel device differs from the “invisibility cloaks†discussed previously on this blog in that it hides temporal events, not spatial objects. Loosely speaking, this has also been referred to as a “history editorâ€ÂÂ. Naturally, the discussion of “cloaking†has again brought out references to “Harry Potter cloaks†and other dramatic imagery; the reality is much more mundane, but still fascinating — and an amazing achievement. Let’s take a look at what was done, what was not done — and why it’s quite cool!
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Way, WAY more about this phenomenon, along with an explanation that almost makes sense even to me, at Skulls in the Stars.
via @jenlucpiquant on G+.
skullsinthestars.com/2012/01/07/so-what-is-a-temporal-cloak-anyway/
From Skulls in the Stars:
I’ve been saying for a few years that optical science has entered a truly remarkable new era: instead of asking the question, “What are the physical limitations on what light can do?â€ÂÂ, we are now asking, “How can we make light do whatever we want it to do?†Among other things, we can make light travel “faster than light“, we can focus light through a highly scattering material, we can take high-resolution pictures with low-resolution sensors, and even make particles “fly†on a “wind†of light!
Inevitably, though, many of these discoveries get misinterpreted in popular news accounts to the point that their real significance is lost in a haze of science fictional, or even supernatural, hype. A good example of this is the “picosecond camera†that I described last week, which is an amazing achievement but also possesses a number of technical limitations that make it not quite a “camera†in the ordinary sense of the word.
This week, the experimental realization* of a “space-time cloak†or “temporal cloak†by researchers at Cornell University has made national news. This novel device differs from the “invisibility cloaks†discussed previously on this blog in that it hides temporal events, not spatial objects. Loosely speaking, this has also been referred to as a “history editorâ€ÂÂ. Naturally, the discussion of “cloaking†has again brought out references to “Harry Potter cloaks†and other dramatic imagery; the reality is much more mundane, but still fascinating — and an amazing achievement. Let’s take a look at what was done, what was not done — and why it’s quite cool!
--------
Way, WAY more about this phenomenon, along with an explanation that almost makes sense even to me, at Skulls in the Stars.
via @jenlucpiquant on G+.