Want to be invisible?

[Micah 16]

Remember a few months ago that scientists created a radar cloak? Well, how about the real thing? Well,  the California Institute of Technology came out with a breakthrough this week. The process is complicated. Here's a way I think I can best describe it: If you shine a flashlight on a mirror at an angle, the light will bend off that mirror. However, scientists have found a way to manipulate this process by having the light shine back towards your flashlight *as if there is no mirror there at all for the light to bend off. Anyway, to truly better understand this concept, go to this article: http://www.physorg.com/news93882787.html It's extremely interesting!

My view: How will this be used in the world? Well, just how other technology has brought us astounding marvels, there is always room for an individual or a country to abuse its use.

Edit: Whoops. *as if there is no bend.

[Krio 624]

Well this is interesting. Later at this week I read about that teleportation is a success in quantumscience.

Well US military will made some stealth-tanks and other weapons and then the other nations do the same. Criminals also can use this, but IMO there will be new surveilance cameras which detect "invisible" movement like infrared?

EDIT: I just got a real bad thought: pedos and other rapists could use this and never get caught.

[screamingman12 30]

I don't think so, considering you couldn't see out of it. 

Edit: 270th post!

[coolotter88 2]

or we could surround something with metamaterial and that would bend the light around your cloaked object rendering it invisible...

[ExiL3 10]

I think scientist have been making several different types of "invisible" suits for the Army. They made a prototype of this suit a few years ago I think, Though it seems now it is nearing it's completion.

It is very interesting, though also very expensive. I don't think it will be used by many troops at this point, perhaps if it works well... who knows :S

take care,

[Goldfish4209 9]

This won't really lead to any new army tech... It doesn't make you any more invisible if they can see a floating pair of eyes...

[JanYpe 17]

This won't really lead to any new army tech... It doesn't make you any more invisible if they can see a floating pair of eyes...quote>

Really now? See, if I was a sniper on a rooftop, and I could crawl into a little tent with only my scope and my barrel sticking out, I'd think I'd have some pretty kickass camouflage.

[Frankie_Grove 33]

if such technology was availble i doubt it would ever be allowed outside of the military....

[JanYpe 17]

Would that be a bad thing though?

Imagine this:

You're cruising along on the highway, a civilized 15KPH over the limit, when you suddenly hear a zieuwzieuwzieuw behind you. As you glance in your rear view mirror, you notice a blurred waving shape become sharper and sharper. Within seconds the shape is in focus, but now includes a set of blue and red flashing lights.

Dammit, you think. Busted again by the InvisiCops. Stupid bloody cloaking*mumblemumble*.

It would be 1984 in a whole new frightening (and expensive) way.

[coolotter88 2]

we already have the technology to implement telescreens, television/computer and webcam

[GreekMan 246]

maybe the cloak would be like the harry potter one.

[LivingInThePast 364]

I don't think the invisibility cloaks will be sold (or priced) for the average consumer. And the police can use motion-detecting things. What I want to see is a YouTube video.

[beebs 129]

I would love to see some visual proof of this before I'll believe it. Invisibility 'cloaks' are difficult to comprehend, otherwise.

[jmjselect 0]

there's two steps to invisiblity: 1 stop reflections of light and 2 somehow get rid of that blob that not longer reflects light.

what we see is nothing more than light reflection of that thing(color). I would of thought of some kind of material that absorded the light instead of reflecting, I never thought of it reflecting straight back.

but the real problem is getting rid of that blob, see we can make something that doesn't reflect light but that mass would still be there, so if it was a sunny day you could see that thing but it just wouldn't have any color and wouldn't produce any shadows so if it was a person all you would see is a shilouette. it's somehow getting rid of that blob. I think something like aston martin in that james bond movie(the N.Korean one). where the cameras filmed the surroundings and just showed that on the exterior of the vechicle.

[coolotter88 2]

no, there's 1 step to invisibility, bending the light around your object so light does not reflect off of it and the light from things on the other side of the object pass through undisturbed.

[Mikeaut1 261]

Hmm, almost hard to believe. As beebs said above, some visual evidence would help!

[Goldfish4209 9]

Originally posted by: Mikeaut1 Hmm, almost hard to believe. As beebs said above, some visual evidence would help! quote>

How are you gonna get visual evidence?

[JanYpe 17]

Originally posted by: Goldfish4209

Originally posted by: Mikeaut1 Hmm, almost hard to believe. As beebs said above, some visual evidence would help! quote>

How are you gonna get visual evidence?quote>

Tsk, just take a picture, silly.

See? I'm standing right there on the corner, waving at you.

Oh wait, you can't see me.  I'M INVISIBLE LOL.

Man I'm bored.

[coolotter88 2]

you mean, visual evidence like THIS?

bottom of the page, the pictures with blue and green stripes

the ring is the metamaterial and the donut hole is where you put the thing you want to be invisible

the stripes are the EM radiation (microwaves in this case)

the donut hole has no radiation while the outside has it, pretty cool

[Goldfish4209 9]

So how is that gonna be useful? It's more conspicious than a person, and I don't really think you can shoot through it...

[JanYpe 17]

Kidding, right?

No wait, you're right. Clearly this is utterly useless. I mean, no one can wear or shoot through this rigged together rudimentary example. Let's forget all about it.

[coolotter88 2]

well, we could use it on future spacecraft as a defense mechanism (or aircraft)

[Goldfish4209 9]

Originally posted by: JanYpe Kidding, right?

No wait, you're right. Clearly this is utterly useless. I mean, no one can wear or shoot through this rigged together rudimentary example. Let's forget all about it.quote>

Ok, rudimentary example, but you've still got to make it invisible both to people and machines. So there's still work to be done...

[josefmayor 8]

We're just now learning about mirror stuff in physics and this is pretty cool, however I would think this is a semi useless technology that would be abused completly.

[JDRCRASH 53]

Scientifically, this maybe feasible....

What our retnis's see are the colors of light reflected off an object, but in cloaking, all light is absorbed or bended.

A cloak would need to simultaneously interact with all 6 wavelengths that make up light.

A couple weeks after North Korea fizzled that nuke last year, The U.S.  and Britain created a cloak, capable of somewhat being invisible...at least from microwaves.

[coolotter88 2]

when you bend the wavelengths around your cloaked object, none of the light touches the object and therefore, none is reflected from that object. The light reflected from the stuff behind the object makes it through the metamaterial so you see what's behind the object making it look invisible.

[ciber 0]

or a desin wold be 1 led and 1 tiny camra then put that over an entire shirt with a small routing computer to make sur the right leds make the right picktchers actualy make it 10 leds to a camra

[Something_started 5]

uh.... what?

i think i get what he is saying. you get tons of tiny cameras and then wire them to some micro computer and then send the signals out and onto some micro sized lights that act like a tv basicly.

only to do that you need a REALY good computer with lots of math and the ability to light up just the right spot with just the right color and hue, (brightness is also a factor) but if you dont get that right then you basicly have a distorted picture that yes is hard to see, but is able to see.

am i making any sence?

[LarksTonguesInAspic 28]

It reminds me of Starship Troopers (the book, not the awful movie), and how the US military has prototype suits that allow a man to carry 300 lbs and run at 25-30 miles an hour with it (when the tech is perfected). Combine the two ideas and you get a soldier that would frighten Schwarzenegger!

[Nerd_Guy 4]

Who knows? No one thought we would walk on the moon either. It doesn't have to be a "cloak" like in Harry Potter. Body armor could be coated in the material, as could guns. Making soldiers invisible. Eyes might be visible, but they are easy to hide. Remember, eyes don't glow in the dark like in cartoons. Tanks and aircraft barely have to see their targets in the first place, give it a few years and they could fire blind. I think this will be a good idea