The Perfect Lens: Resolution Beyond the Limits of Wavelength

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According to 1 Corinthians, "For now, we see through a glass, darkly." But according to Sir John Pendry, now we can actually see through perfectly - not through glass, though. The perfect view is a product of materials science married to theoretical genius, Pendry's insights into the physics of light and the surprising concept of "negative refraction." We have all observed refraction, in the deep end of a swimming pool, for example, where the water looks shallower than it really is. In fact, you can easily calculate the refractive index of water: it's the actual depth divided by the apparent depth. Unfortunately, that is the only simple mathematical idea in this lecture. The index of refraction in nature is always greater than zero. Building on ideas from Fermat and Maxwell - whose equations, especially the parameters magnetic permeability and electric permittivity, are central to the argument - Pendry uses geometry to persuade us that refraction can in principle be negative. His argument was sharply disputed in the physics literature, and Pendry jokes that he earned his knighthood in combat, using equations as lances.

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