Invisibility Cloak Takes 'Big Step Forward'

'Carpet' technique bends and flattens light around objects

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted May 1, 2009 7:38 AM CDT

(Newser) – Two teams of researchers say they're getting close to making a perfect invisibility cloak a reality, the BBC reports. The scientists—using a silicon-based material that eliminates the flaws of earlier, metal-based efforts—successfully made objects invisible at optical wavelengths by bending light around them and producing the illusion of a flat surface. It's a "big step forward," said one scientist involved in the work.

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Researchers from Cornell University and the University of California say their findings could eventually make true invisibility cloaks a reality. (Shutter Stock)

The new invisibility technique currently only works in near-infrared light but researchers believe it can be improved to work in visible light. (Flickr)

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Essentially, we are transforming a straight line of light into a curved line around the cloak, so you don't perceive any change in its pathway. - Xiang Zhang, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley

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Invisibility Cloak Takes 'Big Step Forward'