Official News - page 7

REAL LIFE NEWS: THE INVISIBILITY CLOAK

If you've ever wondered what it's like to be the invisible man, then you will be delighted to know that researchers think they will have the capability to produce an invisibility cloak just like Harry Potter's one in the next few years. Researchers in England and the US are laying out the blueprint and calling for help in developing the exotic materials needed to build such a cloak.

The keys to an invisibility cloak are special manmade materials which steer light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation around an object, rendering it invisible - just as if it had been tucked away in a hole in space. Anything made from these materials would neither reflect light nor cast a shadow. Right now, it's only a theory, and nobody has the engineering capabilities yet.

The study, which was published in a recent issue of the journal Science, has attracted much excitement, both from other scientists (who say it all sounds quite feasible) and from the popular press, who always love to write stories about wacky inventions. This one, of course, would appeal to journalists who would love to be able to sneak around getting stories while invisible...

There are other applications this technology could be used for, such as improving the transmission of electomagnetic signals by bending around objects, or steering sound waves for perfect acoustics.

The Pentagon's DARPA supports the research, which is not surprising given the potential military applications.

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