Student devises optical device that could give us invisibility cloak

We’ve all seen the films or read the books. Harry Potter has a magic “invisibility cloak” that allows him to perfectly camoflague himself and creep around un-noticed. It’s the work of fiction, but a student at St. Andrews University has taken it one step closer to becoming a reality.

22-year-old undergraduate Janos Perczel has devised a way of slowing down light as it travels around an object, which creates an optical device called an “invisibility sphere”. This overcomes a major hurdle that had previously prevented the progress of inventing invisibility cloaks. It could now lead to such a cloak that works against backgrounds of a variety of ever-changing colours and remains unseen.

The makers of the Harry Potter movies must be frustrated that a real-life invisibility cloak wasn’t invented as they were making the films. It would have saved an awful lot of time and effort on special effects.

Full story: Photonics Online http://www.photonicsonline.com/article.mvc/Light-Speed-Hurdle-To-Invisibility-Cloak-0001

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