Scientists closer to developing invisibility cloak

[Gfted1]

Aug 11, 7:36 AM (ET)

 

 

WASHINGTON (AP) - Scientists say they are a step closer to developing materials that could render people and objects invisible.

 

Researchers have demonstrated for the first time they were able to cloak three-dimensional objects using artificially engineered materials that redirect light around the objects. Previously, they only have been able to cloak very thin two-dimensional objects.

 

The findings, by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, led by Xiang Zhang, are to be released later this week in the journals Nature and Science.

 

The new work moves scientists a step closer to hiding people and objects from visible light, which could have broad applications, including military ones.

 

People can see objects because they scatter the light that strikes them, reflecting some of it back to the eye. Cloaking uses materials, known as metamaterials, to deflect radar, light or other waves around an object, like water flowing around a smooth rock in a stream.

 

Metamaterials are mixtures of metal and circuit board materials such as ceramic, Teflon or fiber composite. They are designed to bend visible light in a way that ordinary materials don't. Scientists are trying to use them to bend light around objects so they don't create reflections or shadows.

 

It differs from stealth technology, which does not make an aircraft invisible but reduces the cross-section available to radar, making it hard to track.

 

The research was funded in part by the U.S. Army Research Office and the National Science Foundation's Nano-Scale Science and Engineering Center.

 

 

The bolded represents progress on this same article I posted previously. The implications of getting this to work are staggering. Imagine a completely invisible military only detectable via IR.

[kirottu]

Mmmm, stalking.

[Jaesun]

Cool. One step closer to "Cloak Engaged". <3

[Dragon Lord Jones]

let's see ... peeping toms, rapist, stalkers, hollywood hounds ...... etc. are waiting in the wings I bet

[Alvin Nelson]

I was thinking more Harry Potter style cloak, but i guess that's just me.

[Walsingham]

You'd still have to fox the other senses. Reminds me of Mujaheddin talking about how Spetsnaz were excellent, except tehy smoked, and hence could be smelled a long way off. Still, sniper-tastic.

[Moatilliatta]

Would this kind of invisibility shimmer when moving or is it actual total invisibility that can't be seen with the naked eye?

[Walsingham]

I don't know, but I don't see why you'd need to be invisible closer than, say 30 feet. Think about it. You want to be invisible so you can observe things, or deliver some sort of effect. You can do either at 30 feet, using simple tools.

[Gfted1]

Would this kind of invisibility shimmer when moving or is it actual total invisibility that can't be seen with the naked eye?

 

 

Im not sure on the moving part. It is totally invisible to the naked eye though:

 

Scientists are trying to use them to bend light around objects so they don't create reflections or shadows.

 

As for the stalking, peeping, etc... Trust me, civilians will be the last ones to get their hands on this technology.

[Walsingham]

As for the stalking, peeping, etc... Trust me, civilians will be the last ones to get their hands on this technology.

 

Yeh, that's what they said about nuclear hair curlers.

[theslug]

Rofl. That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Yeah a rapist or peeping tom is some how going to get his hands on some multimillion dollar invisibility cloak. And lets get serious here this thing isn't magic. If someone had it on 5 feet away from you, you would know unless your blind, deaf, and dumb.

[Gfted1]

^Lol, I dont know about that. I was recently watching a show on The Military Channel (

[taks]

Yeh, that's what they said about nuclear hair curlers.

oooh, let's not relive that horror again. much worse than the noodle incident.

 

taks

[theslug]

^Lol, I dont know about that. I was recently watching a show on The Military Channel (<3) about sniper school and one of the tests was finding other snipers. To pass the test two man teams were formed, one was the spotter and one was the walker, and they had to find a camaflaged sniper lying motionless and get within one foot of him. Almost nobody passed and thats just using the standard stuff. I do agree about sound and scent though.

Well i was thinking more of like urban camo. I'm sure its great sitting on top of a roof top and what not but I mean if someone was in your bedroom I think you'd know.

[Gfted1]

UPDATE:

 

Science closing in on cloak of invisibility

 

Jan 15, 2:04 PM (ET)

 

WASHINGTON (AP) - They can't match Harry Potter yet, but scientists are moving closer to creating a real cloak of invisibility.

 

Researchers at Duke University, who developed a material that can "cloak" an item from detection by microwaves, report that they have expanded the number of wavelengths they can block.

 

Last August the team reported they had developed so-called metamaterials that could deflect microwaves around a three-dimensional object, essentially making it invisible to the waves.

 

The system works like a mirage, where heat causes the bending of light rays and cloaks the road ahead behind an image of the sky.

 

 

The researchers report in Thursday's edition of the journal Science that they have developed a series of mathematical commands to guide the development of more types of metamaterials to cloak objects from an increasing range of electromagnetic waves.

 

"The new device can cloak a much wider spectrum of waves - nearly limitless - and will scale far more easily to infrared and visible light. The approach we used should help us expand and improve our abilities to cloak different types of waves," senior researcher David R. Smith said in a statement.

 

The new cloak is made up of more than 10,000 individual pieces of fiberglass arranged in parallel rows. The mathematical formulas are used to determine the shape and placement of each piece to deflect the electromagnetic waves.

 

The research was supported by Raytheon Missile Systems, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, InnovateHan Technology, the National Science Foundation of China, the National Basic Research Program of China and National Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, China.

 

---

 

On the Net:

 

Science: http://www.sciencemag.org

[Gorgon]

I wonder what 'very thin two dimensional objects' are. To my knowledge it's either 2d, or 3d, and there isn't anything in the physical world that's d2.

[Hurlshort]

A piece of paper is easier to cloak than a Basilisk.

[Gorgon]

Yes but since when did "thin" equal 2d. If I go on an extreme diet I will turn sprite based. >_

Edited January 16, 2009 by Gorgon