Scientists have recently “observed” an invisible
eighth colour in the rainbow, a discovery that could have wide-ranging
implications in the field of military camouflage and modern surveillance.
The invention of the new basic colour in the
spectrum of light was made by physicists at the Randall Monroe University in
West Virginia, who were investigating packets of photons that are fired through
a cloud of ultracold sodium atoms, colliding with the light and slowing it down.
This light was then passed through a series of carbon nanotubes in which the incident
angle was enough to bounce the photons back on themselves.
The eighth colour can be thought of as the first
addition to the traditional spectrum since Isaac Newton first successfully
split white light using a triangular prism in 1671.
There is a possibility that this new colour could
be the pioneer in the invention of a invisible cover. While current
designs rely on physically bending light around an object or shielding it from
a small portion of the spectrum, scientists suggest that simply bathing the
target in this previously unseen colour could have dramatic results.
The relative simplicity of the new technology could
also have impact on the consumer market, as researchers claim, accessing the colour
would not be expensive.
