Scientists have shown off the blueprint for an “acoustic cloak”, which could make objects impervious to sound waves.

The technology, outlined in the New Journal of Physics, could be used to build sound-proof homes, advanced concert halls or stealth warships.

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The Spanish team who conducted the new work believe the key to a practical device are so-called “sonic crystals”.

These artificial composites – also known as “meta-materials” – can be engineered to produce specific acoustical effects.

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“The idea of acoustic cloaking is to deviate the sounds waves around the object that has to be cloaked,” said Jose Sanchez-Dehesa of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, one of the researchers behind the new work.