Monday, December 14, 2009

Now you see me, now you don't

We've moved! Visit us at www.scienceinseconds.com

Everyone has bad days, the days you want to be invisible. It may be the walk-of-shame from the night before or an unfortunate breakout. But it happens to the best of us.
Now, invisibility cloaks aren't just for Harry Potter. Don't believe me? Check out these videos.

The new invisibility cloaks that have been developed use one of two strategies to make you disappear:

The first is a bit of a DIY strategy - imagine placing a camera on your back and projecting that image on your front - it will appear to a viewer as if they can see right through you. Apply that to a much bigger scale and an entire garment - and voila...or rather...the opposite of voila.

The other strategy uses the principle that if light bends around an object and is directed to come back together on the other side, it travels so quickly that the viewer can't see what the light bent around. These light bending materials are things called metamaterials that are smaller than the smallest wavelength of light. Finally, a practical application for nanotechnology.

Why develop invisibility cloaks?

Silly, silly question. Why NOT develop invisibility cloaks? Not only does it give D&D players a new sense of personal worth and value, it also will help soldiers, thieves and hermits operate in the world without fear of being caught.

--Torah Kachur

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