Scientists have been working on real-world invisibility cloaks that could make light waves pass through objects to shield them from view. Now scientists at the University of Manchester are applying that same principle but instead of light waves the researchers are looking to make the powerful waves of an earthquake pass through buildings.

Dr. William Parnell and his team at the University of Manchester are attempting to create a device that will make vibration waves pass through structures in pressurized rubber essentially keeping them invisible from earthquake waves.

Dr. Parnell explains that the research in invisibility cloaks that shields a person or object from light waves would be extremely helpful in shielding objects from other types of waves. He explains that finding the right materials for cloaking vibration waves is difficult but his team might have discovered the beginnings of a solution.

"We showed theoretically that pre-stressing a naturally available material - rubber - leads to a cloaking effect from a specific type of elastic wave," he said in a statement.

"Our team is now working hard on more general theories and to understand how this theory can be realized in practice. This research has shown that we really do have the potential to control the direction and speed of elastic waves. This is important because we want to guide such waves in many contexts, especially in nano-applications such as in electronics for example. If the theory can be scaled up to larger objects then it could be used to create cloaks to protect buildings and structures, or perhaps more realistically to protect very important specific parts of those structures."

The metamaterials could safeguard critical buildings and structures like nuclear reactors or airport terminals from earthquakes. These materials could convert the destructive seismic waves into a different type of wave that could dissipate quickly.

The team proposes to create cylinders filled with metamaterials that would be placed in the ground around a structure. The rubber would essentially act as a cloaking device that would cause seismic waves to pass around the structure.

The technology is still in its infancy but it could potentially save lives and billions in infrastructure damage caused by earthquakes. The findings are published in Proceedings of the Royal Academy A.