Slashdot Mirror
Illusion Cloak Makes One Object Look Like Another
KentuckyFC writes "Metamaterials are synthetic substances that can steer light in any way imaginable. Their most famous incarnation is in invisibility cloaks which work by steering light around a region of space making any object inside that region invisible. But invisibility is just the start. A team of physicists in Hong Kong (the same guys who recently worked out how to cloak objects at a distance) have worked out how to create a cloak that makes one object look like another. Instead of steering light to make a region of space look empty, the illusion cloak manipulates light in a way that makes a region of space look as if it contains a specific object. So any object within that region of space, a mouse say, takes on the appearance of an elephant."
Hamas and Hizballah have been using this technology for years. They've successfully made troop carriers look like ambulances, and armories look like hospitals, for many years now.
This trick works especially well if the reflected light passes through a BBC lens.