Coming Soon: Invisibility Cloaks??

Scientists from Duke University had originally make a very primitive invisibility cloak that still resembelled nothing like one. But now, those scientists have improved on this concept, and currently the cloak which is placed over a 'bump' on top of a flat mirror surface, hides the bump quiet well, though still far from perfect. What once was a bump, clear as day, now appears as if it was never there, replaced by a mirage-like effect. This effect is similar to what one might see hovering above the road or pavement on a hot day. "The new device can cloak a much wider spectrum of waves--nearly limitless--and will scale far more easily to infrared and visible light. The approach we used should help us expand and improve our abilities to cloak different types of waves,"says David R. Smith, who is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the university, and also one of the senior members of the research team. The cloak is made of a light-bending composite material that guides electromagnetic waves around the object being covered, and reconnects them on the other side. The most recent cloak made is 20 inches by 4 inches and under an inch high. For now this 'invisibility cloak' may be extremely primitive but considering how fast technology is evolving, a real invisibility cloak may be only a few years away. A picture of the most recent cloak with the bump is shown on the right.