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Illusion Cloak Makes One Object Look Like Another

Posted by samzenpus on from the cloak-of-the-beholder dept.

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."

13 of 219 comments (clear)

  1. That's some sweet stuff by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

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

    1. Re:That's some sweet stuff by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

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

    2. Re:That's some sweet stuff by PopeRatzo · · Score: 5, Funny

      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.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    3. Re:That's some sweet stuff by mqduck · · Score: 5, Funny

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

      --
      Property is theft.
    4. Re:That's some sweet stuff by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

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

  2. Invisibility cloak?!? by Locke2005 · · Score: 5, Funny

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

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  3. It's Called . . . by elcorvax · · Score: 5, Funny

    Make up !

  4. I see... by Red+Flayer · · Score: 5, Funny
    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.

    --
    "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    1. Re:I see... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 5, Funny

      Now where did I put my invisibility cloak..

      It's right in front of you.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  5. Re:Doesnt sound like much? by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Seems to me like you could just make a small tank look like a heavy truck by hanging some shit on it. Ditto for the rocket launcher situation.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  6. Re:Paperclips in space? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    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...

  7. I think it's been done before by crunchly · · Score: 5, Funny

    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.

  8. On future uses: by gaderael · · Score: 5, Funny

    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!

    --
    Anyone got a light for my sig?