It may sound impossible to believe but this is a reality! There is a real invisibility cloak!
Over time, sci-fi and fiction movies have inspired scientists to explore technology. In fact, most of the technology we are using today had its birth in some fiction movie or storybook at some point in time. If creative minds hadn’t dared to imagine their wildest imaginations, scientists and inventors could not fathom the possibilities of things technology can do.
One such creative mind is Martin Cooper. He is an American engineer, recognized and revered for his vision of the wireless communications and creation of cell phone technology. Cooper says that his inspiration to create cell phone technology came from the concept shown in the world-famous Star Trek series. He used that idea to design cell phones that we are using as an essential part of modern lifestyle.
Harry Potter’s Cloak Comes to Reality
Now we are about to see the invisibility cloak in the world-famous fiction story come to reality. Harry Potter’s cloak is no longer a myth. Although it is important to mention that Star Trek had used this concept by cloaking the whole Star Fleet, Harry’s invisibility cloak idea has been very captivating for scientists. They are taking baby steps by first creating an invisibility cloak before they can venture towards cloaking larger objects like an entire spaceship. They have created an invisibility cloak prototype!
To accomplish this, the most recent technological advancement is coming handy. Nanotechnology has made breakthroughs in several aspects of modern technology, and now it has made it possible to make things invisible. UC Berkeley’s scientists have succeeded in making this possible by creating techniques that bend light. In 2015, it was a microscopic discovery but over time, scientists have managed to scale it up. Tech Time reported this advancement when the director of Materials Sciences Division confirmed it, saying:
“It marks the first time a three-dimensional object, which shape is of no consequence, had completely obscured from visible light.” He also said, “Our ultra-thin cloak now looks like a coat. It is easy to design and implement and is potentially scalable for hiding macroscopic objects.”
The Invisibility Cloak Modus Operandi
Back in 2015, the first prototype of the nanotechnology was microscopic, measuring roughly 80 nanometers, which is much smaller to the size of the head of a paper pin. The paper pinhead has millions of nanometers. Therefore, the challenge for scientists was to increase the size of the nanometer to cover larger surfaces.
Besides, scientists have explored the properties of light to use it with nanotechnology. When light reflects off the surface of objects, they become visible to our eyes. Black objects remain invisible in a light-less room because they don’t reflect light off their surface, but instead absorb it. In order for objects to become invisible to our eyes, they must absorb light rather than reflecting them off their surface. This is what scientists have finally achieved.
Now, there is an invisibility cloak! It can bend the light falling on its surface without reflecting it. While this sounds impossible to believe, it is a reality. Scientists are using a new and specially designed material for the cloak.
Negative Refractive Index Metamaterials
Scientists are using nanostructures to create metamaterials that make anything invisible. With a negative refractive index, the materials don’t reflect but simply bend them away. Now it is possible to control light waves to make them absorbable and define a direction where they should reflect. Scientists have succeeded in bending it to the object behind the target.
Right now, the material has a limited size, which is not more than a few microns. Scientists have found a way to create larger metamaterial so that they can bend away light spectrums completely.
This new breakthrough seems very appealing to the military as well. They have started using it to create Quantum Stealth so that they can make an aircraft invisible while flying in the clouds. Doesn’t this remind you of the X-Men Movie?
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