London: The dream of every Harry Potter
fan of owning an "invisibility cloak" seems to be soon coming
true, with British scientists developing such a garment which
will render the wearer invisible to the human eye.
A team at Imperial College hopes to create a cloak
from a new material that can manipulate light. Normally, when
light hits an object, it bounces off the surface and into the
eye, making the object visible.
According to the scientists, the invisibility
cloak made from "meta-material" would work by "grabbing hold"
of light waves and making them flow smoothly around an object,
in the same way that water in a river flows round a stick.
Putting the cloak on will allow the wearer to move
around unseen, the 'Daily Mail' reported.
In fact, the scientists say the meta-material
could have a range of other applications, including creating
super-sensitive microscopes and airport security sensors that
can spot tiny amounts of chemicals.
However, they admit the Harry Potter cloak is likely
to generate the most interest.
Sir John Pendry, who is leading the project, which is
being funded by the Leverhulme Trust and will be carried out
with the University of Southampton, said: "We've shown that an
optical invisibility cloak is theoretically possible -- the
big challenge now is to build it."
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, November 13, 2009, 17:08