An invisibility cloak to protect buildings from earthquakes

Mathematicians at the University of Manchester are working on the theory of invisibility cloaks that covered developing progejan buildings and structures of vibration and natural disasters such as earthquakes . As announced William Parnell and his colleagues in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society A , camouflage certain structural components with rubber pressure allow large seismic waves do not "see" the building and "long pass" so that it does not suffer any damage.

This "invisibility" may be very important to protect key structures such as nuclear power plants, electrical towers and government buildings in the destruction of natural disasters and even terrorist attacks, as it would provide invisibility to light waves, sound or vibration. Research into invisibility cloaks and the ability to hide objects or persons to light waves began about six years ago, but so far very little work had been done with other types of waves, such as those produced by earthquakes. "This research has shown to actually have the potential to control the direction and speed of elastic waves . This is important because we want to direct these waves in many contexts, especially in nano-electronics applications, for example, "explains Professor Parnell. "If the theory can be applied to larger objects, then it could be used to create layers to protect buildings and structures, or perhaps more realistically, to specifically protect important parts of these structures."