Scientists create tiny invisibility cloak

LONDON, March 19 (UPI) -- Researchers in Britain and Germany say they've created a tiny cloak of invisibility that could someday rival the one worn by fictional wizard Harry Potter.

"This is very exciting, because mankind has always thought about being invisible or having invisibility cloaks," lead researcher Tolga Ergin said.

Scientists from Imperial College London and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology bent light waves to conceal a bump on a gold surface that measured 0.00004 inches high by 0.00005 wide, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

It was the first time an object was rendered invisible in three dimensions, rather than just two dimensions, the researchers wrote in the journal Science.

"This is the first proof of principle. It shows that the technique works," Ergin said, cautioning it likely will be years before something as large as a person could be made invisible.

"It is really hard to say what the future will bring," he said, "but the field is definitely very broad and the possibilities are very large."

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2010/03/19/Scientists-create-tiny-invisibility-cloak/UPI-84211269011162/.