Nanowerk June 27, 2018
Thermal camouflage requires an ability to control the emitted thermal radiation from the surface. An international team of researchers (Turkey, USA – MIT, UK) used electro-modulation of IR absorptivity and emissivity of multilayer graphene via reversible intercalation of nonvolatile ionic liquids. The new surfaces are thin, ultraflexible and they can conformably coat their environment. By combining active thermal surfaces with a feedback mechanism, they demonstrated an adaptive thermal camouflage system which can reconfigure its thermal appearance and blend itself with the varying thermal background in a few seconds. These devices can disguise hot objects as cold and cold ones as hot in a thermal imaging system. The technology could have impact on a variety of new technologies ranging from adaptive IR optics to heat management for outer space applications… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
A new type of camouflage makes a human hand invisible to a thermal camera. (©American Chemical Society)