Ever Wondered How To Be Invisible?
source: http://cosmofunnel.com/blog/2012/05/21/achieving-invisibility/6845727
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Harry Potter may no longer be the only one with a cloak of invisibility . . . well, sort of. Researchers at Stanford and UPenn have created a new device that detects light, and is invisible.
The device is made up of silicon nanowires covered in gold. ScienceDaily reports that by adjusting the ratio of metal to silicon, the nanophysics create an effect where light is reflected and the two materials essentially cancel one another out—creating the effect of invisibility!
Confusing, I know, but apparently coating something in reflective metal really can make it less visible. The Silicon detects light and in response creates an electrical current—this project simply cloaked this process to make it invisible. So they basically designed the device so that the light from the metal and the electrical currents across the semiconductor cancel one another out.
The uses for this are mainly technical, but I wonder how far this would really go—could we make devices large enough to cover a body? Where would you go if you could be invisible? It’s almost too exciting to think a superhuman power might be within our grasp!
Photo credit: All rights reserved by Shamus O'Reilly
The device is made up of silicon nanowires covered in gold. ScienceDaily reports that by adjusting the ratio of metal to silicon, the nanophysics create an effect where light is reflected and the two materials essentially cancel one another out—creating the effect of invisibility!
Confusing, I know, but apparently coating something in reflective metal really can make it less visible. The Silicon detects light and in response creates an electrical current—this project simply cloaked this process to make it invisible. So they basically designed the device so that the light from the metal and the electrical currents across the semiconductor cancel one another out.
The uses for this are mainly technical, but I wonder how far this would really go—could we make devices large enough to cover a body? Where would you go if you could be invisible? It’s almost too exciting to think a superhuman power might be within our grasp!
Photo credit: All rights reserved by Shamus O'Reilly
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