Originally published on November 28, 2013
Researchers at University of Texas in Austin have developed a novel approach to electrically deflect light waves in the latest attempt to create an invisibility cloak.
Objects are seen when rays of light reflect off of them and reach the human eye. Invisibility cloaks are typically made of sheets of metamaterial to converge light rays around the object that they cover.
This causes light rays to pass beyond the cloaked project. Viewers then see past the covered object, thus achieving the "see-through" illusion. However, light of certain wavelengths will still reflect off the cloak fabric, revealing the contours of the covered object.
The team at the UT Austin developed a new cloak that incorporates electricity to amplify metamaterial's ability to defer and converge lightwaves. This "active" model is expected to also defer electromagnetic waves.
"Our active cloak is a completely new concept and design, aimed at beating the limits of [current cloaks] and we show that it indeed does," University of Texas at Austin professor Andrea Alu said in a BBC report.
The same technology could be developed to shield objects from microwave detection.
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