Invisibility cloak?

[tkingdoll]

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20070406/tsc-us-science-physics-invisibility-e123fef.html


Harry Potter fans take note: scientists have finally come up with a workable design for an invisibility cloak.


Physicists figured out the complex mathematical equations for making objects invisible by bending light around them last year.

A group of engineers at Purdue University in Indiana have now used those calculations to design a relatively simple device that ought to be able to - one day soon - make objects as big as an airplane simply disappear.

The design calls for tiny metal needles to be fitted into a hairbrush-shaped cone at angles and lengths that would force light to pass around the cloak. This would make everything inside the cone appear to vanish because the light would no longer reflect off it.

[vbloke]

I remember reading about that last year.

Whilst it sounds like a great idea, IIRC, they've only been able to make it work for at a specific frequency of ultraviolet light, which is great if you want to hide things from bees.

[tkingdoll]

Ha ha! Great answer :D

I thought the Harry Potter thing was stupid, they aren't saying they can make a flexible material, but a cone you put things under. Honey, for example.

[Cuddles]

So far it's only been done with much longer wavelengths. The idea in this article is exactly the same as that used for microwaves, but since the wavelength of visible light is shorter the components also have to be much smaller. Ultraviolet would be even harder again. The bees are safe for the moment.

[Corpse Cruncher]

The countless paupers, homeless and street beggars have had an invisibility cloak for years. This is nothing new.