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ForexTV NewsDesk | October 4 2011 2:44 EDT
ForexTV.com (New York) by Sterling Wong
It’s not clear if they are big fans of Harry Potter, but researchers at the University of Texas, Dallas have come up with a real-life version of an invisibility cloak much like the one described in the bestselling book series.
The invisibility cloak the team in Dallas has come up with was inspired by how a mirage works. The heat present in a desert plays a big part in creating the optical illusion that is a mirage. As light waves travel from denser, colder air higher up down to warm air when it passes the surface of a desert, they bend because of the difference in temperature. And when they bend, they create a reflection of the sky, which is what you actually see instead of a phantom body of water.
The scientists applied the concept of a mirage to their invention. The cloak is actually a sheet comprised of molecule-thick carbon nanotubes. These nanotubes are good heat conductors and so, heat can move across the sheet surface really fast. So when heated up, light that moves across the sheet surface bends, tricking our eyes into thinking the sheet has disappeared.
“It is remarkable to see this cloaking device demonstrated in real life and on a workable scale,” said a spokesperson for the Institute of Physics, according to Wired. “The array of applications that could arise from this device, besides cloaking, is a testament to the excellent work of the authors.”
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