
While one uses a type of fishnet of metal layers to reverse the direction of light, the other uses tiny silver wires. They demonstrated for the first time the possibility of cloaking three-dimensional (3-D) objects with artificially engineered materials that redirect radar, light or other waves around an object. Two teams of scientists worked separately to create two "Invisibility Cloaks" from ' metamaterials' engineered at the nanoscale level. This is the technique depicted in the 2000 television portrayal of The Invisible Man. Comparing light waves to the water, and whatever object that is being "cloaked" to the stone, the goal is to have light waves pass around that object, leaving no visible aspects of it, possibly not even a shadow. The agent can be compared to a stone in a river, around which water passes, but slightly down-stream leaves no trace of the stone. The theory that light waves can be acted upon the same way as radio waves is now a popular idea among scientists. The technique is predicted to be applied to radio waves within five years, and the distortion of visible light is an eventual possibility. A 2006 theoretical work predicts that the imperfections are minor, and metamaterials may make real-life "cloaking devices" practical. Methods are typically based on implementing the theoretical techniques of transformation optics, which have given rise to several theories of cloaking.Ĭurrently, a practical cloaking device does not exist.

An artificially made meta material that is invisible to the microwave spectrum.Įngineers and scientists have performed various kinds of research to investigate the possibility of finding ways to create real optical invisibility (cloaks) for objects. In filmmaking, people, objects, or backgrounds can be made to look invisible on camera through a process known as chroma keying.

In 2006, a team effort of researchers from Britain and the US announced the development of a real cloak of invisibility, though it is only in its first stages. In 2003 the Chilean scientist Gunther Uhlmann postulates the first mathematical equations to create invisible materials. Though stealth technology is declared to be invisible to radar, all officially disclosed applications of the technology can only reduce the size and/or clarity of the signature detected by radar. Making use of a real-time image displayed on a wearable display, it is possible to create a see-through effect. Technology can be used theoretically or practically to render real-world objects invisible.

The term is often used in fantasy and science fiction, where objects cannot be seen by means of magic or hypothetical technology.
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In illusion optics, invisibility is a special case of illusion effects: the illusion of free space. Invisibility is often considered to be the supreme form of camouflage, as it does not reveal to the viewer any kind of vital signs, visual effects, or any frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum detectable to the human eye, instead making use of radio, infrared or ultraviolet wavelengths. In research on sensorial perception it has been shown that invisibility is perceived in cycles. Thus an object can be classified as "invisible to" a person, animal, instrument, etc. For example, invisibility depends on the eyes of the observer and/or the instruments used. Invisibility perception depends on several optical and visual factors. Transparency, and is seen in many naturally occurring materials (although no naturally occurring material is 100% transparent). Since objects can be seen by light in the visible spectrum from a source reflecting off their surfaces and hitting the viewer's eye, the most natural form of invisibility (whether real or fictional) is an object that neither reflects nor absorbs light (that is, it allows light to pass through it). The phenomenon is studied by physics and perceptual psychology.

An object in this state is said to be invisible (literally, "not visible"). Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. ( September 2011) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. This article possibly contains original research.
