Researchers at Berkley create invisibility cloak
- August 11th, 2008
- 15 Comments
There have been talks about a Harry Potter-like invisibility cloak for years and now a group of researchers at Berkley have constructed a material that can bend light around 3D objects. The disappearing act (light bending effect) is essentially the same effect (reversing refraction) that makes straws in water appear as though they are bent.
The material, which doesn’t occur in nature, is made on a nano scale that measures in billionths of a meter. Previous forays worked on a microwave wavelength that we, feeble humans, cannot see. The newly produced material works on a wavelength closer to that used in the telecom industry, which is a bit closer to the visible spectrum. The Berkley team made two different sets of metamaterials; one made from nanometer-scale stacks of silver and magnesium fluoride arranged in a “fishnet” structure, while the other used silver nanowires.
Light is neither absorbed nor reflected by the objects, passing “like water flowing around a rock,” according to the researchers. As a result, only the light from behind the objects can be seen.
Craziness.
Hui (Who am I?)
3 months ago
This is wild! Hide n Seek is going to get much harder!
pji (Who am I?)
3 months ago
Possibly, but probably not until at least 2050 and also at $1m per square inch.
hate (Who am I?)
3 months ago
FAG!
Reply
mitch (Who am I?)
3 months ago
I know this is all related to security. I am a security expert and i think this is a great concept except for one thing. It is technology and as always technology can be beat. An adversary will figure out a way to beat this technology.
I am also an explosives expert. I am guessing that a small charge planted somewhere around the cloaked item will cause the reflection to be redirected and reveal what is actually there.
Just food for thought.
Can you imagine that cloaked cameras might actually be watching you and you won’t even know it because they are cloaked. I can see things like that happening accross the US.
Invasion of privacy? guess that really depends on what you are doing.
Nick (Who am I?)
3 months ago
i think explosives placed around it might be more prone to blow it up than anything else
zak (Who am I?)
3 months ago
yeah…i guess maybe cause you are an “explosives expert” you wouldnt think to just throw some flour on said item…or some paint or dirt or water…put a bomb by it to redirect the reflection…ok charlie bronson relax
Damian (Who am I?)
3 months ago
if its cloaked how do u know its there to “redirect” the light
Lilly (Who am I?)
3 months ago
This does sound interesting.
That’s really all I can say.
Wow.
-Lilly
anzu (Who am I?)
3 months ago
magic shows would be the bomb with these :D
pedro johnson (Who am I?)
3 months ago
witchcraft i say!
Krystal (Who am I?)
3 months ago
Actually i think it’s kinda cool. Think about it all the local hunters would prettymuch turn into Predators. Stealth ships (like Klingon Birds of Prey) could one day be reality. And little pervs everywhere can sneek around the girls bathroom under their Cloak of Invisibality.
So yea Hide & Seek will be very fun and there will always be a way to get around the technology. That is IF we ever see it in non-military-killing-people way, which will probably be the only we will ever hear of it again.
thatguy (Who am I?)
3 months ago
everyone knows theres no such thing as hairy potter. ur all so ign’ant
FCII (Who am I?)
3 months ago
It is an incredible development! For the record the correct spelling is U.C. Berkeley not Berkley; I’m sure the researchers would appreciate it.
Mark (Who am I?)
3 months ago
of course you can’t see it. it’s in nanometer scale.
azn (Who am I?)
3 months ago
why just stop at visible light, couldn’t this also be used to trick infrared cameras as well?