Cloak of invisibility about to be uncloaked
p2pnet news view | Cool Stuff:- Cloaked Klingon birds of prey were an essential ingredient in many Star Trek episodes but until recently, they were just Sci-Fi.
Then, researchers at the University of California in Berkeley developed a material able to bend light around 3D objects making them “disappear”.
A blueprint for a cloak of invisibility made from “metamaterials” was developed by researchers at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering and Imperial College, London, England, p2pnet reported in 2006, going on to quote Duke researchers as saying:
“Such a cloak could hide any object so well that observers would be totally unaware of its presence, according to the researchers.
Stated David R. Smith, “It would act like you’ve opened up a hole in space,” professor of electrical and computer engineering at the Pratt School.
“Researchers at the University of California in Berkeley have developed a material that can bend light around 3D objects making them ‘disappear’,” says the BBC.
And they, too, are using metamaterials.
“Cloaking uses materials, known as metamaterials, to deflect radar, light or other waves around an object, like water flowing around a smooth rock in a stream,” says the Associated Press, going on:
“Metamaterials are mixtures of metal and circuit board materials such as ceramic, Teflon or fiber composite. They are designed to bend visible light in a way that ordinary materials don’t. Scientists are trying to use them to bend light around objects so they don’t create reflections or shadows.
“It differs from stealth technology, which does not make an aircraft invisible but reduces the cross-section available to radar, making it hard to track.”
But the Klingons will be safe for little while yet.
Invisibility hasn’t yet much beyond laboratory experiments.
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.Stumble It!
p2pnet – Invisibility cloak becomes visible, October 20, 2006
BBC -Invisibility cloak ’step closer’, August 11, 2008
Associated Press -Scientists closer to developing invisibility cloak, August 11, 2008
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August 11th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Of course, if it were used to bend light around a person or vehicle, the people inside it would be blind to the outside world, since the light would go around them, rather than into their eyes. This is the same mistake every movie about invisibility makes; If a person becomes truly invisible, it means that the lighyt is passing straight throuh their eyes (or around them) rather that being focused by them and they’d be blind.
August 11th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Well, if it only blocked a specific part of the spectrum, and allowed others in, you could conceivably use those others (infrared for instance) to view the environment. I believe that is what the predator did in the predator films.
August 14th, 2008 at 4:16 am
…or a suit covering everything but the eyes would still be useful. Sure, you cant stand in the ladies change room, but 99% invisibility would still be better than the camouflage that soldiers use now…