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'Invisibility Cloak' Created Using Crystals

Posted by Soulskill on from the keep-this-discovery-away-from-the-klingons dept.

Zothecula writes "The quest to build a working 'invisibility cloak' generally focuses on the use of metamaterials – artificially engineered materials with a negative refractive index that have already been used to render microscopic objects invisible in specific wavelengths of light. Now, using naturally occurring crystals rather than metamaterials, two research teams working independently have demonstrated technology that can cloak larger objects in the broad range of wavelengths visible to the human eye. PDFs of the two similarly named research papers are available through arXiv.org."

18 of 98 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Another day... by bobbinspenguin · · Score: 2, Funny

    I've not seen the others

  2. One cheat code down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Now to work on "God Mode"

  3. I dunno by Dyinobal · · Score: 3, Insightful

    From reading the article I get mostly that it's done all with Mirrors and prisms essentially. Maybe someone else can point out what's so exciting about this?

    1. Re:I dunno by Shikaku · · Score: 3, Funny

      I can't point out what's so exciting because I can't see it, duh!

    2. Re:I dunno by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      From reading the article I get mostly that it's done all with Mirrors and prisms essentially.

      It is actually slightly more sophisticated than that. They use the birefraction properties of calcite to bend the light rays in such a way that the exiting light has the exact same position and direction as if there were no wedge at the bottom. A simple mirror/prism assembly can not do this. It will either shift the beam or tilt it slightly.

      The reason you see the wedge in the picture is because of lousy polishing. The tip of the wedge is not perfectly sharp.

  4. This thread is worthless without pics by jfengel · · Score: 4, Funny

    Here's one:

  5. Stupid harry potter. by RyuuzakiTetsuya · · Score: 3, Funny

    screw the invisibility cloak! Give me Stealth Camouflage!

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  6. How does this affect me? by Locke2005 · · Score: 2

    Are we any closer to our goal of being able to sneak into women's locker rooms undetected?

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    1. Re:How does this affect me? by nitehawk214 · · Score: 2

      Are we any closer to our goal of being able to sneak into women's locker rooms undetected?

      You already can .. all it requires is a minor sex change operation. Unless of course you already are female.

      A: He is on slashdot, of course he is male.
      B: Minor?

      --
      I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
  7. Crystals of Dihydrogen monoxide by rossdee · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Around here at this time of year naturally occuring crystals can cause objects to disappear., especially in high winds. In some cases even after the wind has subsided, things can remain hidden by being covered with a layer of these 6 sided crystals. There are 2 solutions, wait until the temperature increases and the crystals melt, or to use a shovel....

  8. That was incredibly unimpressive by joeyblades · · Score: 2

    OK. I guess that's one way of defining invisible.

    So I can't see the pink material... I can still see the wedge of reflective material covering it. By this definition, I could throw a blanket over it and - 'poof' - it's invisible...

    1. Re:That was incredibly unimpressive by lewiscr · · Score: 2

      Once you paint it pink, just set up a SEP field.

  9. Re:Magicians by GigsVT · · Score: 2

    Probably. Magicians rely on much simpler effects than this. Most magic tricks have stupidly simple gimmicks.

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  10. Re:Magicians by amRadioHed · · Score: 2

    True. In most cases redirecting people's attention is easier then photons.

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  11. Re:Yet no one has refuted this article by Lazareth · · Score: 2

    Total and COMPLETE negative refraction is impossible. Masking a selection of wavelengths is not. This is about fooling the human eye, not 'true' stealth tech which indeed violates the second law of thermodynamics.

  12. Re:Magicians by eepok · · Score: 2

    Well, some magic tricks are stupidly simple, yes. But others are extremely intricate and involve great deals of engineering and foresight. I'll use this as a simple example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewef620ptj4

    Given the money involved in big acts, I still wouldn't be surprised.

  13. Re:Another day... by shia84 · · Score: 2

    I never really understood what is with this invisibility cloak obsession anyway. It's not like research like depicted in the article enables true invisibility... it only filters a comparatively small band, so no (radar+infrared+visible light) invisible planes, tanks etc. Also, no project so far has shown even the hint of the possibility to have angle independant cloaking. So that's no inivisible soldiers either, unless they don' t turn and all enemies are looking at them from one narrow perspective.

  14. Prior art ! by alexhs · · Score: 2

    I could throw a blanket over it and - 'poof' - it's invisible...

    But there are two thousand years of prior art on that technology...
    Here, invisible women.

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