Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Invisibility Cloak Created In 3-D

Posted by kdawson on from the can-you-see-me-now dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Scientists have created the first device to render an object invisible in three dimensions. The 'cloak,' described in the journal Science (abstract; full text requires login), hid an object from detection using light of wavelengths close to those that are visible to humans. Previous devices have been able to hide objects from light travelling in only one direction; viewed from any other angle, the object would remain visible. This is a very early but significant step towards a true invisibility cloak." The "object" hidden in this work was a bump one micrometer high. The light used was just longer than the wavelengths our eyes detect. To get a visible-light cloak, the features of the cloaking metamaterial would need to be reduced in size from 300 nm to 10 nm.

6 of 113 comments (clear)

  1. Um... by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 4, Funny

    I don't mean to complain, but it would be nice to have a picture.

    Even if the object is invisible...

    1. Re:Um... by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 4, Funny

      ...it would be nice to have a picture...

      You realize that the object is only 1 micrometer, and the cloak only 300nm,
      but here you go (photo) --> [ ]

      --
      It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    2. Re:Um... by camperdave · · Score: 4, Funny

      I can't see it.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  2. Diplomatic Nightmare by EvanED · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh man, wait 'till the Romulans hear about this.

  3. Oblig ... by krou · · Score: 5, Funny

    Nothing to see here, move along ...

    --
    'If Christ had tweeted the sermon on the mount, it might have lasted until nightfall.' - John Perry Barlow
  4. Re:What good could come from invisibility? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sex in public places.