Invisibility Cloak - Read about Latest Developments

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The discussion centers around recent advancements in invisibility technology, particularly the use of metamaterials to create cloaking devices. Participants express skepticism about the practicality of achieving true invisibility, noting that current technologies only provide the illusion of invisibility and are limited to specific angles. The complexities of light bending and the need for precise alignment are highlighted as significant challenges. Adaptive camouflage is mentioned as a more feasible alternative for personal cloaking, with references to military applications such as tanks. Some participants recall demonstrations of cloaking technology using LCD screens and fiber optics, suggesting that advancements in display technology like OLEDs could enhance future developments. Overall, while there is excitement about the potential of invisibility technology, there is also a recognition of its current limitations and the need for further research.
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Interesting!

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v2/n2/full/ncomms1176.html"

Another cloaking article I read recently (December 2010). That's a bit of a leap in technology for only 2 months.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/11/invisibility-cloak-made-f_n_679170.html"[/URL]



Other articles on this device:

[URL]http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1352769/Scientists-create-invisibility-cloak-hides-objects.html?ito=feeds-newsxml"[/URL]

[URL]http://www.channel4.com/news/invisibility-cloak-is-trick-of-physics-not-magic"[/URL]

[PLAIN]http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/amazing-scientific-breakthrough-paper-clip-made-invisible-20110203-1af2g.html"[/URL]

Comments?
 
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Metamaterials are amazing, and being invisible to one wavelength is pretty impressive. To make a material at a small enough scale, and complex enough to block the visual spectrum, seems unlikely; I'd invest in ninja training first. ;)
 
It's real a Tokyo university found a way to make invisible shirts by bending light, however as a note these things are only invisible from a certain angle.
 
Here's what I don't get though. Suppose that such a cloak did exist.

Now suppose light were to enter at a spot near your right shoulder and exit out your left. For one, it would have to exit at the EXACT same direction that it entered. Any bending of the fabric would destroy the illusion since the light that was intended to be emitted to the left would go in some random direction. Furthermore, the light somehow has to "know" to traverse a certain distance along the cloak before being emitted off the other side. If you spread your arms out, the light now has to travel a longer distance from the right to the left side, because if it exists at the same spot it did before it wouldn't come out at the correct spot. I don't really see how this is possible for fabrics and flexible materials.

Adaptive camouflage seems a lot more realistic as far as personal cloaking goes.
 
sciencectn said:
Here's what I don't get though. Suppose that such a cloak did exist.

Now suppose light were to enter at a spot near your right shoulder and exit out your left. For one, it would have to exit at the EXACT same direction that it entered. Any bending of the fabric would destroy the illusion since the light that was intended to be emitted to the left would go in some random direction. Furthermore, the light somehow has to "know" to traverse a certain distance along the cloak before being emitted off the other side. If you spread your arms out, the light now has to travel a longer distance from the right to the left side, because if it exists at the same spot it did before it wouldn't come out at the correct spot. I don't really see how this is possible for fabrics and flexible materials.

Adaptive camouflage seems a lot more realistic as far as personal cloaking goes.

The British Defense Agency found a much more pragmatic way to make a tank look invisible like I said the fabric that Tokyo university made is only visible from a certain angle, I'm not a scientist so I guess what you said makes sense for why this is true. Also, keep in mind that we can't achieve total Invisibility yet and we're really just achieving the illusion of it right now but the research is just now finally making breakthroughs. All in good time.
 
sciencectn said:
Here's what I don't get though. Suppose that such a cloak did exist.

Now suppose light were to enter at a spot near your right shoulder and exit out your left. For one, it would have to exit at the EXACT same direction that it entered. Any bending of the fabric would destroy the illusion since the light that was intended to be emitted to the left would go in some random direction. Furthermore, the light somehow has to "know" to traverse a certain distance along the cloak before being emitted off the other side. If you spread your arms out, the light now has to travel a longer distance from the right to the left side, because if it exists at the same spot it did before it wouldn't come out at the correct spot. I don't really see how this is possible for fabrics and flexible materials.

Adaptive camouflage seems a lot more realistic as far as personal cloaking goes.

Really? Fiber-optics seem to manage.
 
An older episode of FutureWeapons showed off a cheap version of an 'invisibility cloak' where soldiers whore a thin, LCD film on their clothing with a camera on their back. It worked quite well to be honest.
 
Futurama said:
An older episode of FutureWeapons showed off a cheap version of an 'invisibility cloak' where soldiers whore a thin, LCD film on their clothing with a camera on their back. It worked quite well to be honest.

Yeah, that was developed for tanks originally I believe; it's the "adaptive camouflage" mentioned by someone earlier.
 
nismaratwork said:
Yeah, that was developed for tanks originally I believe; it's the "adaptive camouflage" mentioned by someone earlier.

I do not recall watching anything about a tank. However, the episode I saw about the cloak on a soldier was pretty lame to say the least. It was more of a demonstration to a theory than anything. But with better technology of screens that can wrap around objects, this can totally happen.
 
  • #10
Futurama said:
I do not recall watching anything about a tank. However, the episode I saw about the cloak on a soldier was pretty lame to say the least. It was more of a demonstration to a theory than anything. But with better technology of screens that can wrap around objects, this can totally happen.

Yep, and OLEDs will help, but I didn't see this show, I'm just speaking from prior knowledge of what you're talking about.

edit: Great name btw!
 
  • #11
nismaratwork said:
Yep, and OLEDs will help, but I didn't see this show, I'm just speaking from prior knowledge of what you're talking about.

edit: Great name btw!

Thanks! I'm surprised it wasn't taken!
 
  • #12
Futurama said:
Thanks! I'm surprised it wasn't taken!

Right? Still, good for you, and Welcome to PF.
 
  • #13
"[URL fields[/URL] are the future of invisibility!
 
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  • #14
Pythagorean said:
"[URL fields[/URL] are the future of invisibility!

You joke...

I laughed...

BUT...


What if you had a greater understanding of the Nucleus Accumbens, and could influence or disrupt it? That could be a terrible weapon, or defense.
 
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