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By bending light around an object, the science of transformation optics could enable the first working, 3D cloaking device. A new advance in metalenses, if successfully applied, could extend a cloak to the visible light portion of the spectrum, enabling the first true “invisibility cloak.” (Credit: Hyperstealth Biotechnology)
Long a staple of science-fiction and fantasy, the ability for not just an individual to become invisible, but an entire vehicle or even a starship, would be a revolutionary technological development.
By bending light of all wavelengths around an object, irrespective of its shape, both metalenses and metamaterials offer the potential to effectively “cloak” any object, rendering it immune to detection by any type of electromagnetic wave.
Recent research has demonstrated that combining the two nanotechnology devices may, in fact, pave the way to the first working, universal invisibility cloak across all wavelengths of light, making cloaking devices a reality at long last.
For as long as human beings have been writing about fantasy, myth, and science fiction, the dream of invisibility has always been a top priority. There would be so much you could do or accomplish, under a stealthy guise, if only you didn’t have to worry about being seen. While Star Trek brought the idea of a cloaking device into the popular…
The Universe is: Expanding, cooling, and dark. It starts with a bang! #Cosmology Science writer, astrophysicist, science communicator & NASA columnist.
“Recent research has demonstrated that combining the two nanotechnology devices may, in fact, pave the way to the first working, universal invisibility cloak across all wavelengths of light, making cloaking devices a reality at long last.”
Is that first picture real? I looked at the HyperStealth Biotechnology website and it mainly discusses better camouflage patterns. There is a page on "Quantum Stealth", which is not how cloaking works at all. All the photos on it are old. The site itself looks like it was laid out 20 years ago.
Drones defeat 3D cloaking. No matter how well you bend light around an object, you cannot eliminate its physical existence. Drones detect thermal signatures, movement, tracks, terrain changes, and evidence gathered from earlier surveillance…
