This technology sounds amazing. Hope this theory can be realized in practice soon such that buildings can be better protected from earthquakes.
It's in the realm of imagination, but British scientists claim that it may soon be possible to create a Harry Potter-style 'invisibility cloak' which could be used to protect buildings from earthquakes.
A team at Manchester University says that the prospect of making objects invisible to certain wavelengths in limited circumstances has become more realistic in recent years, and a similar approach could be used to defend structures against earthquakes and other natural disasters.
In the same way that cloaking devices make objects appear invisible by deflecting light around them, the scientists say that pressurised rubber could be used to 'hide' structures from shock waves produced by earthquakes, sending them around the structure rather than through it.
According to team leader Dr William Parnell, the technique could protect nuclear power plants, electric pylons and government buildings from natural disasters or terrorist attacks, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Significant progress has been made, both theoretically and practically in the area of cloaking. We showed theoretically that prestressing a naturally available material - rubber - leads to a cloaking effect from a specific type of elastic wave.
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