Scientists in California have developed a ground breaking new material that forms a cloak of invisibility. Our picture shows one of the scientists holding up an invisible object.
Xiang Zhang and a group of scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have engineered a material which can bend light around an object. An object is only visible if it reflects light back to the human eye, the Californian team have created a “metamaterial” which can deflect light waves and even RADAR. The metamaterial is the next step from presently available stealth technology, with metamaterial an aeroplane could made completely invisible.
The military possibilities for this kind of technology are endless, and the research has been partly funded by the U.S. Army Research Office. The US Military have been trying to develop this technology for some time, the inspiration behind the research is reported to have been when US generals saw the cloaking technology used by an alien in the sci-fi film Predator.
To date military organisations have already tested an “invisible” camouflage suit and an “invisible” tank. Both these designs work on mirrors or tiny cameras and projectors to create an optical illusion.
