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Invisibility Cloak a Reality

Holy Harry Potter Come to Life! Invisibility Cloak a Reality?

Good news for all you sad Muggles wandering around all visible and everything — scientists say that they're a step closer to developing the technology that will give the power to make things and people (!) invisible. Researchers have demonstrated that they're now able to use artificially engineered materials that redirect light around three-dimensional objects, making them disappear into thin air, Harry Potter-style.

OK, it's not magic — the reason we can see objects is because they scatter the light that hits them, beaming some of it back to the eye. This cloaking technique uses materials, called metamaterials, to deflect light around an object, like a rock parting water flowing in a stream.

Though researchers are excited by the military implications of having the power of invisibility, the rest of us can feel free to come up with various (more important?) scenarios where we could apply this technology. Where would you want to be invisible?

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