Re: Phase Conjugate mirrors (was Re: [FT] Vector Move question)

On Wed, 4 Aug 1999, Jim 'Jiji' Foster wrote:

> >Laserlight wrote:
> >
> >> This brings to mind that I've heard of a mirror which will bounce a
laser
> >> back in the direction it came from, regardless of the angle--I
thought it
> >> was a "cognate mirror" but search engines don't seem to find it by
that name
> >> so I may been mistaken.  Does anyone know the location of a basic
article on
> >> this? (Obligatory dragging in a topic: maybe this would make good
PSB for a
> >> Reflex Field?)
> >
> >	I believe what you are talking about is a
> >	"phase conjugate mirror"
> >
> >	http://www.dra.hmg.gb/html/products/electron/phasecon.htm

"dra.hmg.gb"? weird! as far as Altavista knows, the Defence Research
Agency is the only domain in the hmg.gb (which i assume is Her Majesty's
Government, Great Britain) high-level domain. the site is also visible
in
the place you'd expect it - www.dera.mod.uk (it's been called DERA, not
DRA, for a while now). i didn't think the .gb domain was actually used.
freaky.

> The BBC, in conjunction with Play, Inc. is marketing a new sort of
> chromakeying technology called Holoset. Basically, it uses a special
> type of plolymer cloth that reflects light directly back at its
> source, no matter the angle. Assuming it could handle the energy
> levels, this might make anti-laser body armor or vehicle coatings
> feasible.
> 
>    http://www.play.com/products/holoset/index.html

okay ... so the DERA developed some kind of high-tech unbelievable
light-reflecting material, and now the BBC have the technology. my
conspiracy detector is beeping away like mad ...

> There aren't too many physical details on the site, but I saw it at
> NAB... very impressive! I tried to take a flash picture of the stuff,
> and ended up with what looked like a big, flat white area in the
> picture.

it sounds like this stuff might also be handy for counteracting
surveillance gear too.

tom