![\"Environmental](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/zhang-shelly220221-lbs-02-m.jpg\")
<\/a>Shelly Zhang, professor of civil and environmental engineering.<\/p>\nUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign\u00a0civil and environmental engineering<\/a>\u00a0professor\u00a0Shelly Zhang<\/a>, postdoctoral researcher Weichen Li, and graduate student Yibo Wang collaborated with professor Ole Sigmund at the Technical University of Denmark on the study, which is published in the journal Nature Communications.<\/p>\n \u201cA real thermal cloak should work no matter where the heat comes from,\u201d Zhang said. \u201cOur device can hide a complex 3D object in an infinite number of directions while keeping the temperature inside stable and protected.\u201d<\/p>\n Past experiments have only worked in two dimensions or along a single direction of heat flow, far from the ideal of a true 3D cloak. To solve this problem, the team went back to the original theory of transformation thermotics and asked, \u201cWhat kind of material structure could cover almost all the thermal properties needed for a perfect cloak?\u201d<\/p>\n Their answer was a new type of lattice-based material that can be freely adjusted in three directions. By tuning these dimensions, the researchers can precisely control how well different regions conduct heat. This design covers a much wider range of thermal conductivities than previous approaches \u2014 sufficient to closely match the theoretical requirements for ideal cloaking.<\/p>\n The team\u2019s thermal cloak is not just a computer model \u2014 it has been physically fabricated and tested. The device is a hybrid material, using 3D-printed metal to create a precise aluminum lattice that acts as a high-conductivity material. Mold casting was used to fill in the structure with a rubber-like material with low thermal conductivity.<\/p>\n In the lab, the researchers placed the device between hot and cold regions to create a temperature gradient. Using an infrared camera, they tracked how heat flowed around and through the cloak. From the outside, the temperature field looked as if a object hidden with the cloak was not there at all. Inside the cloaked region, the temperature remained uniform and protected from the external extremes.<\/p>\n To further challenge their design, the team cloaked highly complex 3D geometries, including detailed head-like shapes. They report that no previous experimental thermal cloak comes close to this level of geometric complexity and performance.<\/p>\n The researchers envision wide-ranging applications for this technology, from precisely managing heat around sensitive electronic components to security and defense uses such as helping to hide people or equipment from thermal detection or protecting assets in harsh conditions.<\/p>\n \u201cAny field that needs precise control of heat or needs to protect something from being detected thermally could benefit from this work,\u201d Zhang said. \u201cBut we also see it more broadly: it\u2019s about hiding and protecting information that is carried by heat.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking ahead, the team plans to explore smart and multifunctional cloaks. For example, the researchers hope to determine how to mask an object inside the cloak that generates its own heat. This would require a cloak that can concentrate, spread or guide heat on demand within the protected region.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve shown that a true 3D omnidirectional thermal cloak is possible,\u201d Zhang said. \u201cThe next step is to make cloaks that don\u2019t just hide and protect, but also actively manipulate heat in useful ways.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0The National Science Foundation, the Villum Foundation and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research support this research. Zhang also is affiliated with\u00a0mechanical science and engineering<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0National Center for Supercomputing Applications<\/a>\u00a0at Illinois.<\/p>\n Editor\u2019s note:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n To reach Shelly Zhang, email\u00a0zhangxs@illinois.edu<\/a>. The paper \u201cFree-form thermal cloaks in three dimensions<\/a>\u201c is available online. DOI: 10.1038\/s41467-026-73167-0<\/a>. Civil and environmental engineering and mechanical science and engineering are part of The Grainger College of Engineering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHAMPAIGN, Ill. \u2014 Researchers have designed and built the first 3D device that can make objects invisible to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":547607,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[61,60,82],"class_list":["post-547606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=547606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/547607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=547606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=547606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=547606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}