January 28, 2012 09:39 am EDT

Plasmonic cloak makes objects invisble, but only in the microwave region of the spectrum

Okay, so we're not up to USS Pegasus levels yet, but for the first time researchers have been able to cloak a three dimensional object. Don't start planning your first trip to the Hogwarts library restricted section just yet though, the breakthrough is only in the microwave region of the EM spectrum. Using a shell of plasmonic materials, it's possible to create a "photo negative" of the object being cloaked in order to make it disappear. The technique is different to the use of metamaterials, which try to bounce light around the object. Instead, plasmonics try to deceive the light as to what's actually there at the time -- but because it has to be tailored to create a "negative image" of the object you're hiding, it's not as flexible, but it could be an important step on the road to that bank heist we've been planning.

Plasmonic cloak makes objects invisble, but only in the microwave region of the spectrum originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Jan 2012 04:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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