Researchers at UC Berkeley have diverted light around three-dimensional objects in a way that gives the impression they aren’t there — a lot like a Star Trek-style cloaking device, and that guy on the right.
Science is cool.
From the Guardian:
Researchers funded by the Pentagon have managed to make material that has the potential to bend light around objects to make them invisible.
By diverting light around an object scientists expect to be able to make tanks, buildings and even individual infantrymen disappear from view.
For the military such a cloak would be the ultimate camouflage, but it would have many other uses, perhaps eventually allowing Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak to be merchandised.
Funny how, when an exciting new technology comes out, the first applications we think of are military-oriented. And can you imagine the chaos if everyone with $300 could pick up a cloak of invisibility at Wal-Mart?
We see things by gathering the light that bounces off of objects around us. That light brings with it information about our surroundings, but the Berkeley “cloaking” technique bends light “the wrong way,” so that it diverts around objects instead of bouncing off of them — for example, light from across the room might pass entirely around, say, a desk. When that light reaches our eyes, it only transmits information about the last thing it hit — the wall across the room — giving us the mistaken impression that there’s nothing in between.
More from the Guardian:
Researchers believe that the technique can now be developed to create an invisibility cloak that would direct light waves around an object. To the observer the effect of diverting light around an object would be to hide it because none of the light would reflect off it to give away its position.
The scientists were reassured that little of the light was lost during the process of bending, meaning that high definition would be maintained. This would be important for the development of an invisibility cloak because a fuzzy appearance to a landscape would give away to an observer that something was being hidden.The researchers believe that the technology employed could be used to develop the “perfect lens”, which would be able to reveal objects that are smaller than the wavelength of light.
Image via the Research Group of Dr. David R. Smith at Duke University.
8 responses so far ↓
1 Baelwulf // Aug 12, 2008 at 12:40 pm
One problem with this, if all the light is bending around you, none of it is getting to you. This makes the inside of the cloak a very dark place, you wouldn’t be able to see
2 mark // Aug 12, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Hmm, hadn’t thought of that… Maybe vehicles cloaked in this material could still see with sonar or something similar?
Although I have to say, there’s something amusing about legions of invisible people wandering around bumping into things…
3 Asher Vijay // Aug 14, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Yeah, and can you imagine the fun you could have in class?!? You could sneak in watermelons… or waterballoons… or a tree…
…or answers to the test! Good heavens!
4 ANONYMOUS // Jun 23, 2010 at 7:20 pm
They have already achieved this effect with microwaves, however they are having trouble doing it with visible light. Also, as Mark stated, a sonar device would be a good solution to not being able to see in the “cloak”, as it uses sound instead of light. And I highly doubt that if this technology did come out, they wouldn’t be selling it to civilians. Crime rate would go up as they would now have a way to sneak into buildings and houses virtually undetected. Our government is very strict about those kinds of things and would most likely keep the technology top secret.
5 kevin // Jan 26, 2011 at 7:20 am
You can take photos of UFOs and see them through your camera — yet you cant see them with your eyes– because there teck is some how out side our vision? yet the camera picks them up–so invisiblability is possible– our world aint flat 300 years ago it was said to be flat
6 Rajesh // Nov 11, 2011 at 8:10 am
Baelwulf said it would be dark inside. But cant we use infrared cameras from inside?
7 Rajesh // Nov 11, 2011 at 10:07 am
cant we do this using lens
8 kevin heitman // Nov 11, 2011 at 10:37 am
I have known about bending light for along time ever since digital cameras came in about 20 years ago The alien s that are studying mankind use this bending light the other thing is they grow there space craft.I have many photos of them,I have photo of there craft traveling 10 mile in the drop of my camera shutter now that’s fast aprox speed is 115000 kilometers per hour remember when the first car came out they said that the wind pressure of 50 mile per hour would stop you from breathing because of the pressure on your chest???
Leave a Comment