Carbon nanotubes used for 'space camouflage'

Scientists have used carbon nanotubes as a camouflage for three-dimensional objects.

A team from the University of Michigan has used the carbon nanotubes, which are cylindrical sheets of graphene just one atom thick to obscure objects so that they are effectively invisible under white light.

The 'invisibility cloak' works because carbon nanotube "forests" have a low index of refraction, very similar to that of air, meaning that there is very little reflection or scattering of light as it moves between air and nanotube.

To illustrate their findings, the scientists etched a tiny 3D image of a tank out of silicon and covered it in a carbon nanotube coating, when viewed under white light it appeared as nothing more than a black sheet.

The team suggested that the discovery could be used to provide camouflage for spacecraft in deep space.

Haofei Shi, the report's lead author, said the material "acts as a perfect black cloth that can completely conceal the 3D structure of the object".

Posted by Ben Evans