The day when you can fulfil that childhood fantasy of being invisible is drawing closer thanks to advances in science.
Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley, whose work is funded by the American military, have developed a material that can bend light waves around an object, making it appear invisible.
"In the case of invisibility cloaks or shields, the material would need to curve light waves completely around the object like a river flowing around a rock," says Xiang Zhang, project leader.
Where's my car? Oh…
This would allow the observer to see the object behind without knowing something was being cloaked - although early attempts will be far from perfect.
Using nano-scale engineering, constructing elements 0.00000066 of a metre allows the 'meta-materials' to grab the light waves and deflect them smoothly.
Advancements with engineering on this kind of scale have only recently got to the point where this research is possible, ushering in a new era of possibility for science and hide-and-seek enthusiasts everywhere.
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zoydwheeler
August 11th 2008
1. Rubbish joke. I would rather see an actual picture.
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