Metamaterials researchers at Duke University have demonstrated the design and construction of a thin material that can control the redirection and reflection of sound waves with almost perfect efficiency.
While many theoretical approaches to engineer such a device have been proposed, they have struggled to simultaneously control both the transmission and reflection of sound in exactly the desired manner, and none have been experimentally demonstrated.
The new design is the first to demonstrate complete, near-perfect control of sound waves and is quickly and easily fabricated using 3-D printers. The results appear online April 9 in Nature Communications.
"Controlling the transmission and reflection of sound waves this way was a theoretical concept that did not have a path to implementation -- nobody knew how to design a practical structure using these ideas," said Steve Cummer, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Duke. "We solved both of those problems. Not only did we figure out a way to design such a device, we could also make one and test it. And lo and behold, it actually works."
Wow! One can think of a lot of uses for that. To read more, click here