Home

On:

European researchers are perfecting the invisibility cloak that the Japanese invented. It may take a long time, but some day we may stumble over things that we don’t see because, to us, they’re just NOT THERE.

German scientists were able to do this by covering a tiny bump in a layer of gold, which prevented it from being detected by infrared light. In PhysOrg.com, Randolph E. Schmid describes the new cloak as “a structure of crystals with air spaces in between, sort of like a woodpile, that bends light, hiding the bump, which is so tiny that it can only be seen with a magnifying glass, in the gold layer beneath.”
read more

On:

Scientists are still working on creating invisibility and have now found a way to make objects invisible in near-infrared light. Soon they may be able to create invisibility in full-spectrum light (the kind we see).Mechanical engineer Xiang Zhang has created what he calls a “carpet cloak” made up of mesh fabric. He makes some parts of the object cloaked invisible, and alters the look of the object, by filling up some of the holes, while leaving the others empty. In BBC News, Victoria Gill quotes Zhang as saying, “Essentially, we are transforming a straight line of light into a curved line around the cloak, so you don’t perceive any change in its pathway.”
read more

On:

Scientists and the military are seriously studying how to make things like soldiers and airplanes invisible, but right now the only thing researchers can render invisible is a person (if he’s wearing the right clothes). This would be great gear for a spy. But it turns out the Chinese have already figured out how to overcome this effect!
read more

On:

Five years ago, we reported on clothes that were being designed to make the wearer invisible. Researchers have developed a material that can bend light around 3D objects, making them seem to “disappear”?like magic! It all has to do with perception.

BBC News quotes researcher Ortwin Hess as saying, “In order to have the ‘Harry Potter’ effect, you just need to find the right materials for the visible wavelengths, and it’s absolutely thrilling to see we’re on the right track.”

Speaking of Harry Potter, We’ve also written seriously about magic. Now serious scientists are studying it!
read more