Scientist thinks invisibility possible in future

[Dover]

Scientist thinks invisibility possible in future
By Patricia Reaney
Mon Jul 31, 10:11 AM ET



LONDON (Reuters) - It's unlikely to occur by swallowing a pill or donning a special cloak, but invisibility could be possible in the not too distant future, according to research published on Monday.


Harry Potter accomplished it with his magic cloak. H.G. Wells' Invisible Man swallowed a substance that made him transparent.

But Dr Ulf Leonhardt, a theoretical physicist at St Andrews University in Scotland, believes the most plausible example is the Invisible Woman, one of the Marvel Comics superheroes in the "Fantastic Four."

"She guides light around her using a force field in this cartoon. This is what could be done in practice," Leonhardt told Reuters in an interview. "That comes closest to what engineers will probably be able to do in the future."

Invisibility is an optical illusion that the object or person is not there. Leonhardt uses the example of water circling around a stone. The water flows in, swirls around the stone and then leaves as if nothing was there.

"If you replace the water with light then you would not see that there was something present because the light is guided around the person or object. You would see the light coming from the scenery behind as if there was nothing in front," he said...cont'd

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060731/sc_nm/science_invisible_dc;_ylt=AunGCd4NDjDt75E78rz4geSs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MzV0MTdmBHNlYwM3NTM-



Maybe they can practice on the neocons.

[DianeG5385]

1. Horse Manure

In my humble opinion only. Would be nice if t'were true! I've always wanted to fly like a bird..., anything in the offing?

[Dover]

2. And in related news.... Japanese scientist invents 'invisibility coat'

A scientist at Tokyo University has developed a coat which makes those who wear it appear invisible.
Professor Susumu Tachi told the BBC's East Asia Today that the coat was made with a special type of "retro-reflective" material, which acts as a photographic screen.

"We have a camera behind the person wearing the coat," Mr Tachi told the BBC.

The image from the camera is then projected onto the coat, so that the wearer appears virtually transparent when seen through a viewfinder.

Beforehand "it looks like a grey coat," Mr Tachi said. "But when we project the image onto it we can see a very clear picture of what is projected..cont'd

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/2777111.stm

[Mistwell]

10. I want one!

That's a cool effect.

[hpot]

3. Light refraction

Basic physics, if you can bend light, you can make an object appear invisible. This would be similar to placing an object in a round fish tank full of water. The object is visible only at certain angles. Would be great for stealth if there was a method that does not require liquid. Maybe gravity waves can be used if we ever learn to control it.

[DianeG5385]

4. Okay, I can accept that

But it's still a very limited concept of invisibilty and appears hard to maintain.

[qazplm]

5. but if you are bending light around you

wouldnt you more or less be blind to anything in the outside world since no light would reach your eyes?

If so, you'd need some sort of exterior "probe" for want of a better word to see.

[Orrex]

9. I've thought of that

The same would be true, of course, if you achieve Wells-style invisiblity. If the light passes through you unimpeded, it won't bother stopping on your retinae, either.

But if you're using a device to bend light around you, it seems to me that the device could "read" that light and thereby transmit the image to you without disrupting the invisibility aura.

Of course, if you're just concealing an object, then a no-light-gets-in technique would be fine, I guess.


"What do you think of invisibility, Professor?"

"I just can't see it, myself."

nyuk nyuk nyuk

[qazplm]

11. you cant "read" the light

without photons striking the "reader" which would reveal the reader.

[Orrex]

13. I'm not so sure

If the mechanism simply bends light around itself, then I agree that the mechanism would be blind.

But if the invisibility is due to, say, 90% bent light and 10% controlled reprojection of light, it seems to me that you could read that 10%. You'd get a dimmer picture, I suppose, but it beats blindness IMO.

Of course, if you're listening carefully, you'll notice that I'm 90% talking out of my ass and 10% making this up.

[Random_Australian]

6. Gravity waves? I don't think so!

You are talking about gravity strong enough to ben incident light almost 90 degrees, and that is, might I point out, a hell of a lot stronger than the gravitational pull of the earth!

And if someone were standing there pulling that much stronger than the earth, I should think that they would become highly noticeable very quickly.

Unless I am missing something?

[hpot]

7. It is just an idea.

If it is possible to control gravity waves, the power requirements would be astronomical. I believe we can solve the problem if given enough time (give or take a few thousand years). Do you have an alternative suggestion?

[Random_Australian]

8. Well, only a little. If we are going to manipulate fundamental forces,

I would have thought that something that drops off quicker would be more suitable, but I don't think that we are going to make things invisible for the next quite some time.

[Fox Mulder]

12. I'm already invisible.

People rarely ever read/respond to my posts. :(

They must not see me...