Invisibility Cloaks?!

The LA Times reports on a new ‘invisibility cloak’ technology being
created by researchers at Duke University. The device works by bending
electromagnetic waves so that they flow around the object and hide it- Because none of the waves are reflected back at the observer, the object seems invisible.

Still in very early stages, the device currently only works in two
dimensions and with microwave radiation not visible light waves, so far
being able to cloak a copper cylinder about 0.4 inch tall. The
team is now building a version that will cloak an object the size of a
toaster in all three dimensions.

Although the cloaking effect may not work on a large scale, or may
require the user/ product to be painted all one colour, and despite
many other limitations, experts envision a variety of uses for the
technology. It could
be used in communications, for example, to bend a wireless transmission
around a building. It could also be used for focusing solar energy onto
solar cells, and to protect sensitive devices from electromagnetic
radiation.

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