Invisible Cloaks Are Possible?

Looks like being invisible is something that can come true! Being invisible is not restricted to magicians like Harry Potter! There are actually scientists that are currently building a cloak of invisibility.

The theoretical breakthrough is made possible by novel substances called metamaterials.

Invented six years ago, the man-made materials are embedded with networks of exceptionally tiny metal wires and loops.

The structures refract, or bend, different types of electromagnetic radiation—such as radar, microwaves, or visible light—in ways natural substances can't.

Leonhardt and John Pendry of the Imperial College London independently reported their work in this week's issue of Science. Specially-designed "metamaterials" built on semiconductor chips, they report, can be tuned to divert approaching electromagnetic radiation in another direction.

"[Metamaterials] have the power to control light in an unprecedented way," said Sir John Pendry, a theoretical physicist at England's Imperial College London.

"They can actually keep it out of a volume of space, but they can do so without you noticing that there's been a local disturbance in the light."

As for the photograph above, it was part of a demonstration of pudding camouflage technology at Tokyo University sponsored by JELL-O® back in 2003. It is the brainchild of chef Susumu Tachi who is in the early stage of research he hopes will eventually make pudding virtually transparent.

The photograph was taken through a viewfinder that uses a combination of moving images taken behind the pudding to give a transparent effect.

It's hoped the technology will be useful for surgeons frustrated with pudding and surgical tools that can block their view of operations and pilots who wish cockpit floors were transparent pudding for landings.

Read Also:
Cloaking Technology Coming — We’ll See (Real Tech News)
New Materials Bring Invisibility a Step Closer (Discovery Channel)
Invisibility Cloaks Possible, Study Says (National Geographic)
Japanese chef invents 'invisibility cloak' (Ananova)