We’re hanging out for a genuine invisibility cloak here at Gizmodo, and it looks like Chinese research into the problem may have hit on a working approach, although whether it’s a “cloak” is debatable. More »
Invisibility cloaks don’t even exist, yet scientists keep trying to ruin the fun. C’mon, guys. Wouldn’t it be more enjoyable to figure out all the awesome uses for one instead of trying to get us all caught? More »
No, the opposite of an invisibility cloak isn’t a normal jacket, smartass. This universal mirror uses metamaterials to bounce light back at the same angle from which it came, so no matter where you stand, you can see yourself perfectly. More »
University of California scientists today announced that significant progress has been made toward developing “metamaterials” for use in a legitimate invisibility cloak. The researchers, led by mad scientist Xiang Zhang, were able to demonstrate for the first time that they could cloak 3-D objects with these materials. As the article notes, and as we’ve shown here on Gizmodo in the past, previous attempts at invisibility were successful only with tiny two-dimensional objects. Not anymore, as this heavily military-backed project is well on its way to producing superhero special abilities, today.
Japan’s been tooling around with versions of invisibility cloaks for years now, but they seem to have finally perfected it. Theoretically. By using “left-handed metamaterials” to make electromagnetic control devices, researchers can generate lenses that either reflect no light or have a perfect focal point—the end result of which lets you create a perfect invisibility cloak to skulk around Tokyo with. If you’re really interested in the physics of the situation, you can head over to Nikkeibp, but we’re pretty sure the illustration above will explain the matter just fine. [Nikkeibp]
Scientists at the Britannia Royal Navy College are working hard to make the idea of an invisible ship a reality using metamaterials that refract light in such a way that it “bends” around an object, making it appear as if it were invisible. This would only account for viewing with the naked eye however—naturally radar cloaking would be an important part of the equation. However, it appears that this technology may be able to accomplish a lot more.
US scientists have finally done it: they’ve created a cloak to hide an object in the visual light spectrum. The catch? This cloak is just 10 micrometres in diameter and only works in 2D space. But were still excited about the “locker room potential.”
The device works by redirecting light rays around the object and setting them back on path out the opposite end. So as far as one can tell, the light moves in a perfectly straight path instead of reflecting off the object as it normally would (or so our third grade science teacher would oversimplify the concept). And it’s built from surprising materials: gold and plastic, arranged in concentric rings, granting them the ability to ripple/dominate light.
While the technology is not anticipated to work in three dimensions, the more depressing notion is that true invisibility is not at all possible, since even this solution would create a window glare effect. But fret not, readers, as other technologies are on the horizon. Their name? Nanocameras. [newscientist] More »
