How Much Energy is Needed to Create a Light-Warping Cloak?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the feasibility of creating a light-warping cloak to render an object invisible. Participants explore various theoretical approaches, energy requirements, and the practical challenges associated with such a project.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests using a super massive magnetic field, noting that the required power would be astronomical and that the object would not be truly invisible but appear as a dark spot or blurred mess.
  • Another participant argues that magnetic fields do not bend light, implying that a black hole would be necessary for true invisibility.
  • There is a contention regarding the ability of magnetic fields to change the path of light, with some participants asserting that they can affect light under certain conditions.
  • A participant proposes using a copper coil to create a strong electric field to warp light or space-time, while another dismisses this idea as unrealistic and likens it to science fiction.
  • One participant mentions the possibility of creating a new material that could cause light to refract in unexpected ways, suggesting that this might be a more plausible approach.
  • Another participant describes a simple demonstration using mirrors to create an illusion of invisibility, acknowledging the limitations of such an arrangement.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express multiple competing views on the feasibility of the proposed methods and the underlying physics, with no consensus reached regarding the effectiveness of magnetic fields in bending light or the practicality of the project in a classroom setting.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference various theoretical concepts and experimental ideas, but the discussion reveals limitations in practical application and the need for further exploration of the underlying physics.

physicsismylife
Well I was a registered user here before and something obviously messed up?

Anyway, I am working on this physics project and decided I want to warp the light around an object of some sort to make it appear invisible from the front.

I've been thinking about how to actually pull this off, and the only concern I have is the amount of energy I will need for this and to create a safe barrier between the object the class I am presenting.

Any idea's?
 
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Yea, first off your best bet is to use a super massive magnetic field, and the amount of power would be astronomical, and the object wouldn't appear invisible, it would just show up as a dark spot, or a blurred mess, because the object is reflecting light, not producing it.
 
Magnetic fields don't bend light.

You'd have to create a black hole to do what you describe.

Good luck getting that past the administrators.

- Warren
 
Chroot you are correct that magnetic fields don't bend light, but they can change the path of light. Which is what our experimenter here is trying to do.
 
Originally posted by MrCaN
Chroot you are correct that magnetic fields don't bend light, but they can change the path of light.
Wrong.

- Warren
 
Hmm, yes a black hole would be convieniant(sp?) but I do not have the supplies to pull one off.

I was under the impression if I pul copper coil around the object and produce a strong electric field I could warp the light around it... or maybe warp space-time itself.
 
Originally posted by physicsismylife
I was under the impression if I pul copper coil around the object and produce a strong electric field I could warp the light around it... or maybe warp space-time itself.
Stop reading science fiction.

- Warren
 
What do you mean wrong, I have to question if you have studied EM at all, its not a hard connection to make, a light wave is made from both a magnetic field and a electric field, and by definition all magnetic fields will interact to one another.
 
I don't read science fiction.
 
  • #10
Originally posted by MrCaN
What do you mean wrong, I have to question if you have studied EM at all, its not a hard connection to make, a light wave is made from both a magnetic field and a electric field, and by definition all magnetic fields will interact to one another.
So I see you've studied electromagnetism long enough to understand that light is a wave phenomena in the electic and magnetic fields. Perhaps you should study a bit more.

- Warren
 
  • #11
Ok Chroot, I don't want to get into a flame war so I will try to say this in small words so that you can understand. Magnetic fields can change the vacuum index, and bend the light. Now I will admit, that only correctly polarized light is effected, but like I stated earlier magnetic fields can bend light. here is a link to an interesting paper on the subject as it occurs around magnestars http://www.cita.utoronto.ca/~shaviv/preprints/lens.pdf
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #12
Uhm guys, I still have to pull this off...
 
  • #13
Uh, good luck buddy.

- Warren
 
  • #14
Really, the closest thing I have to this is the manufacture of a new material that "flips" the field of light and causes refraction in the opposite direction to what is expected.

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/5523920.htm

But as too what you want to do, I really wouldn't. If you can pull it off, a nobel prize is waiting. But I'd switch projects if I were you.
 
  • #15
What u want isn't plausible in a classroom setting.
 
  • #16
"Cloaking devices" have been constructed with fiber optics. While the technical, engineering, and practical concerns are probably beyond your means, you could demonstrate the idea with a clever arrangement of mirrors. A simple arrangement (which could be improved) would look like:

Code: 
    | |
+---+ |
|/   /|
|     |
|  ***|
|     |
|\   \|
+---+ |
    | |

The diagonal lines represent mirrors, the +, -, and | symbols are the walls of your box, and the * are where you can place an object. The illusion will obviously only happen when a person is looking directly into the tunnel on the end, but it would still look nifty!

Hurkyl
 

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