Sunday, May 28, 2006

A real invisibility cloak?

Scientists from Imperial College, London, and Duke University in North Carolina may have developed a real 'invisibility cloak'

"Most materials are opaque to light because they absorb photons and convert them to heat. This is why sunlight feels warm on the skin. But a few materials, such as glass, are transparent. This is because their atoms are organised in such a way that the photons can pass between them.

What (the scientists) have shown, in a paper published in the Journal 'Science' is that there is a third class of materials that can be made to “grab” photons without absorbing them or allowing them straight through.

Instead, the metallic materials would carry the photons within themselves and then emit them from the other side as if they had travelled in a straight line directly through."

1 comment:

Jay said...

I could use one of those, If only to simply go invisible every time a femo try's talking to me. hehe !