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."

Comments

That's some sweet stuff

[Anonymous Coward]

Soon people all over can put one on their wives to have them look like supermodels... Yay!

Re:That's some sweet stuff

[Anonymous Coward]

Or put one on my... you know...like they made the mouse look like an elephant?

Re:That's some sweet stuff

[PopeRatzo]

Anybody who's ever gone to a drag bar knows this is not new.

When I moved to a new apartment in Chicago's New Town in my early twenties, my roommate (native of Kansas) and I walked around the corner to get a beer after a long day of hauling furniture. The first thing we noticed was the place was full of incredibly hot girls.

Or so we thought...

Fortunately, a bartender took pity on us two naifs and clued us in before we did anything irredeemable. My buddy, who was a few beers ahead of me, took some convincing, let me tell you.

Cognitive dissonance, when it involves the little head, is tough to deal with sometimes.

Re:That's some sweet stuff

[unlametheweak]

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, such as an elephant. So any object within that region of space, a mouse say, takes on the appearance of an elephant."

This is just going to piss off astronomers and give more credence to the UFO and ET enthusiasts when miscreants start projecting images of elephants floating around in the night sky.

Re:That's some sweet stuff

[mqduck]

If they're hot and never take their pants off, what's the problem?

Re:That's some sweet stuff

[Anonymous Coward]

We already have that. It's called "beer".

Re:That's some sweet stuff

[binarylarry]

My wife is a supermodel, you insensitive clod!

Re:That's some sweet stuff

[Anonymous Coward]

Then you can use it on yourself :).

Invisibility cloak?!?

[Locke2005]

Invisibility cloak?!? Ha! I'll believe it when I see it!

It's Called . . .

[elcorvax]

Make up !

I see...

[Red Flayer]

This article is full of win.

Fiddle with an invisibility cloak, and it can make any object look like another, say researchers.

Great! This is awesome. Now, where did I put my invisibility cloak so I can fiddle with it?

The researchers have even found a mind-boggling application. Their idea is to create the illusion that a wall has a hole in it, and then use the hole to look through the wall.

That's not quite as bonkers as it sounds. The wall has to be pretty thin, and what the new device does is allow light to tunnel through the wall in a way that would not ordinarily be possible. Amazing, if it works.

Yes, the wall must be thin -- thin enough for light to pass through it. In other words, thin enough to see through without the cloak on top of it. So, in order to see through a see-through wall, we put the cloak in front of it, then make the cloak appear to be a hole, through which we can see through the see-through wall. I see.

These gedanken experiments are nice and all, but I'll believe it when I see it. Or rather, when I don't.

Re:I see...

[PopeRatzo]

Now where did I put my invisibility cloak..

It's right in front of you.

Re:I see...

[brianc]

Their idea is to create the illusion that a wall has a hole in it

BIG DEAL... Wile E. Coyote was doing this (courtesy of A.C.M.E. Corp.) since
the 1960's.

But can they make it bigger on the inside?

[mc1138]

Or travel through time and space?

Re:Doesnt sound like much?

[shaitand]

The only way to do it is one step at a time, so I think I'll start by getting myself a piece.

SETI

[rodarson2k]

So now we finally have a realistic explanation for the lack of interaction with alien life forms. They've all developed illusion cloaks to protect their spacecraft and planets and everything. They look like paperclips and rubber bands. And chapstick. That's why they're always disappearing and re-appearing.

Re:SETI

[bennomatic]

I always knew Clippy was out-of-this-world!

Re:Military applications

[Locke2005]

Man, if only I had one of these as a kid... I would have been the undisputed champion at hide-and-go-seek!!!

Re:Doesnt sound like much?

[brkello]

You are thinking too small. Just think what the porn industry could do with it!

Re:Doesnt sound like much?

[garlicbready]

I'd prefer to make a tank look like a Volkswagen beetle. just imagine the field of battle, a swarm of beetle against beetle firing tank shells at one another
"Sarge it looks like they're bringing out the heavy artillery, I can spot 3 Ford Escorts's and what looks like postman pat's van in the distance"

It'd be great as a car alarm / defense system, one click of a button and the car changes from a Ferrari into a Robin Reliant (let's face it no-one's going to steal one of those)

Re:Paperclips in space?

[Anonymous Coward]

If I saw a disappearing and re-appearing paperclip while looking into space through a telescope I think I'd notice...

Hi, it looks like you are trying to make an astronomical discovery. Would you like to...

I think it's been done before

[crunchly]

Because I've definitely seen elephants that weren't really there. And the weird thing is that they were always pink. And only showed up after I've had a few... Hmmmm.

On future uses:

[gaderael]

Overheard in a girls washroom in the near future:

"Hey, there's something wrong with the faucet on this sink. No matter how much I turn the knobs, it only dispenses soap!

Re:Doesnt sound like much?

[Ambiguous Coward]

That's because there's no such thing as a cloak of illusion. It's a Hat of Disguise. Sheesh.

Re:Amazing magic tricks?

[FiloEleven]

Are you really all that amazed by "Wow! That guy bought a product and used it! On stage!"?!?

I don't know...does it run Linux?