In a study titled Detecting thermal meta-material structures by flying laser point Chinese scientists detail a method for locating the boundary of a cloaked object via satellite or aircraft. As meta-materials become more popular in the scientific community applications can extend from shape-shifting material, quantum computers, solar power and data storage to military or corporate security applications.
By altering their geometry at a subatomic scale we can adjust meta-materials to absorb or reflect specific wavelengths of electromagnetic frequency allowing foreign governments and private corporations to potentially bend light/heat around an object rendering it invisible to both radar and sight. U.S. Patent No. 10,027,033, for “Wideband electromagnetic cloaking systems” prove just how serious this technology has become.
Smaller experiments have already verified the feasibility of this procedure. Therefor it is a matter of legal integrity to secure the necessary technology to detect any of these potentially dangerous objects that may conduct illegal surveillance, conceal criminal operations or otherwise use meta-materials to cloak illicit behavior.
This will only become more relevant as we move towards commercialization of outer space. If you cannot spot everything that is occurring on the Moon or Mars then you cannot accurately police any of them to any sufficient standard. Along with the possibility of economic expansion comes the potential for criminal racketeering conducted outside of UN oversight. The bottom line is that – if they cannot detect these activities than they will continue un-abetted.
Chinese scientists have come up with a means for spotting the “thermal boundary” of a cloaked meta-material structure by flying laser point. This means that you can now use a laser beam to scans the surrounding terrain from a passing aircraft or satellite in order to detect anomalies in the distribution of electromagnetic energy, whether that be infra-red in response to heat or otherwise.
The process relies on a concept called transformation thermodynamics.
“As the most miraculous benchmark, the invisible cloak is extensively studied, which can render light/heat invisible at certain region by bending the light/heat without distorting the propagation of light/heat outside based on the theory of transformation optics/thermodynamics”