Soon, rooms that restrict interfering signals
REMEMBER the last time when your phone rang and the image in the nearby TV started shaking? Such a disturbance, which can also affect an airplane’s equipment when mid-air, is called electromagnetic interference. These disturbances can occur anywhere in the electromagnetic spectrum; the most common range of concern is 104 Hz to 108Hz.
Such interfering signals can be reduced by using materials that have a shielding effect. Researchers led by Avinash Pratap Singh and S K Dhawan at the National Physical Laboratory and the Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of Delhi, have prepared a composition from graphene oxide nanosheets and a fluid containing ferric oxide nanoparticles. This composition can be added to cement to build rooms that do not allow interfering signals. When exposed to electromagnetic radiation, the composition could shield the transmittance by 99 per cent, say the researchers.
Graphene oxide imparts hardness to cement, while the fluid helps increase the effect of shielding. The composition relies more on absorption than reflection of electromagnetic radiation. “The idea is to design structures so that electromagnetic signals do not interfere with high tech equipment,” says Dhawan. It could also be used to coat enclosure in which electronic devices are kept, say the researchers in the October issue of Nanotechnology.
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
.png)
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.