Nobel prize in Physics if this works
From
MIT Technology Review:
Physicists Build World�s First �Magnetic Hose� For Transmitting Magnetic Fields
One of the more important properties of electromagnetic waves is that they can be transmitted over almost unlimited distance. However, the same cannot be said of magnetic fields.
�The impact of magnetism in science is limited by an apparently insurmountable restriction: magnetic fields rapidly decay with the distance from the sources,� say Carles Navau at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a few pals.
That looks set to change. These guys say they�ve discovered how to transmit magnetic fields over long distances using a �magnetic hose�. They�ve even demonstrated the technique for the first time with a proof of principle device.
Researchers have attempted to transmit magnetic fields over short distances for many years. Transformers, for example, use ferromagnetic materials with a high permeability to transmit magnetic fields, but only over short distances because the field decays rapidly.
But new materials offer an alternative approach. In recent years, physicists have begun to experiment with a new technologies that can manipulate electromagnetic fields with much greater flexibility. So-called �transformation optics� allows these fields to be bent, twisted and steered in ways that were impossible just a few years ago. The trick is to create bespoke materials�metamaterials�that interact with the fields at a sub wavelength scale, guiding them in specific, predetermined ways.
Navau and co point out that a static magnetic field can be thought of as a wave with an infinite wavelength so in theory it ought to be possible to control it with a metamaterial in the same way as electromagnetic waves.
Part of their paper is devoted to exploring the properties of such a material and how it might be built.
Very cool -- this could be a game-changer for a lot of technologies.
Posted by DaveH at April 25, 2013 7:26 PM