Oregon State University researchers have made an important step toward a functional superlens, one using negative refraction–that is, it bends light the opposite direction to things in nature.
Why should you care?
In theory, a superlens might be able to attain visual resolution at the level of the nanometer, which is pretty small – a human hair is about 100,000 nanometers wide.
A superlens, for instance, might find uses in electronics production, allowing machine vision systems to see and operate in much finer detail in the production of everything from semiconductors to DVDs. Being able to write and read smaller features could lead to much improved data storage. In biology, a superlens might be able to sense and visually photograph things at the molecular level. Improved radar and microwave transmission is also possible, experts say.
