Invisibility Cloak

[Rich86]

Saw this and it reminded me of the Ring of Gyges (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_of_Gyges)


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7553061.stm







Scientists in the US say they are a step closer to developing materials that could render people invisible.
Researchers at the University of California in Berkeley have developed a material that can bend light around 3D objects making them "disappear".
The materials do not occur naturally but have been created on a nano scale, measured in billionths of a metre.
The team says the principles could one day be scaled up to make invisibility cloaks large enough to hide people.
Stealth operations
The findings, by scientists led by Xiang Zhang, were published in the journals Nature and Science.
The new system works like water flowing around a rock, the researchers said.
Because light is not absorbed or reflected by the object, a person only sees the light from behind it - rendering the object invisible.
The new material produces has "negative refractive" properties. It has a multi-layered "fishnet" structure which is transparent over a wide range of light wavelengths. The research, funded by the US government, could one day be used in military stealth operations - with tanks made to disappear from the enemies' sight.

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My question is this - what would you do with such a device? :hmmm:

[thatguy]

Oh, what i'd do with such a device?
Things that are wrong.

[Rich86]

Such as?

[Sidmen]

How badass would you feel when your in a discussion with a Russian nationalist talking about military vehicles, and as he rattles on about how Russian reactive armor is better - you get to say "Oh Yeah! Our tanks are invisible!"

[The Colonel]

How badass would you feel when your in a discussion with a Russian nationalist talking about military vehicles, and as he rattles on about how Russian reactive armor is better - you get to say "Oh Yeah! Our tanks are invisible!"

Red alert 2, Allied mirage tank "Nothin here but us trees"

[Amorphos]

i’ll believe it when i see it, lols

[Adhamh Ashashi]

Harry Potter eat your heart out!

[Big War Bird]

If you have an invisiblity cloak on that bends light around you, how do you see out?

[dwringer]

Heh I think that's one of many problems with the technology, but the main problem is that it's never been used to make anything invisible to anything other than microwaves, and even then only under tightly controlled laboratory conditions.

EDIT: Maybe I should've read the link before opening my mouth

[Problem Sleuth]

If you have an invisiblity cloak on that bends light around you, how do you see out?

If it's used for a tank, you use a camera outside the tank on a seperate vehicle. Those remote scouting planes we have? They might actually become reasonably useful (in terms of cost-effectiveness). Alternatively, if other wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation aren't too distorted, we could use them to see (think infrared imaging).

Shouldn't this be in the science section?

[saglam2000]

i would do things that involve a girl's locker room and me in it.

[Moosferatu]

i would do things that involve a girl's locker room and me in it.

Too right.

[Adhamh Ashashi]

Pervs. I should take notes though in case.

That's a good point though if it bends light what is it like in side? Completely dark?? It would be freaky.

[Rich86]

I'd actually probably staple the damn thing to Simon Cowell - never have to see his ugly face on the TV again.

[Kiljan Arslan]

why is this in ethoes?

[Rich86]

Discuss ethics, morals, religion and philosophy in here.....


I had hoped to get into the ethical and moral implications of having 'ultimate power' - i.e. the power to go invisible and not have to worry about the consequences of your actions.










Didn't turn out that way

[Łukomski]

That cloak on the picture isn't invisible (and is also obviously photoshoped )... Object to be fully invisible have to allow passing light thru it... it is very hard to complete (if we can even talk about possibility) because the light always brokens on the edges of the object... though stealth objects would be always possible to construct...

[finsternis]

I would use it to fulfill my high school dream (which is the dream of every high school boy): get in the girl's bathroom.
lol

[The Colonel]

I would use it to fulfill my high school dream (which is the dream of every high school boy): get in the girl's bathroom.
lol

Dude, I've been in there, and its not all that great Do you REALLY wanna see girls, ya know, depositing bodily fluids or waste? GROSS!

[Da Skinna]

Is such a thing good for society? What if the Joker got a hold of it?