SlashGear for iPad and iPhone  Metamaterial provides acoustic
cloak that works in air  Metamaterials are very interesting
materials that can be used to cloak things from the naked eye
and hide the sounds produced by things like submarines when in
the water. So far, these exotic metamaterials are in the realm
of scientific research and theory but they certainly hold a lot
of promise for applications other than the obvious military uses
of hiding troops and machinery.  Previously the metamaterials
that were being studied for hiding the sound produced by things
like a submarine would only work underwater. A team of
researchers from Duke University have created a new metamaterial
that will work in air to hide sound. The team has been
successful in creating and demonstrating a small acoustic cloak
so far.  The cloak was designed by Steven Cummer and his team
and the prototype was created by layering ordinary strips of
perforated plastic. When the sound waves hit the plastic and
penetrated most of them appeared to