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Full 3-D Invisibility Cloak One Step Closer to Reality

by Warren Riddle on November 25, 2010 at 12:01 PM

invisible manLast spring, Imperial College London successfully demonstrated, for the first time, an effective three-dimensional invisibility cloak. The system of interwoven rods actually masked a minuscule "bump," but scientists expressed uncertainty about completely hiding larger, visible objects. Now, less than a year later, that hypothetical scenario has become a reality.

The researchers have significantly advanced the rod technology, which manipulates the speed and direction of light waves. Those advancements recently enabled the group to render a small piece of gold completely invisible to the human eye. According to the Daily Mail, the scientists (playing the role of Debbie Downer) still believe "full body invisibility cloaks remain beyond the reach of current science and technology." But, considering the group's rapid rate of progression -- and this particularly momentous breakthrough -- it probably wouldn't be wise to bet against them.

Tags: ImperialCollegeLondon, invisibility, InvisibilityCloak, invisible, science, top

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