Invisibility cloak unveiled in the US

By Aussiegirl

There's an illustration to this article -- you just can't see it.

Invisibility cloak unveiled in the US (October 2006) - News - PhysicsWeb

A mainstay of science fiction and prized possession of the young wizard Harry Potter, the invisibility cloak is also of great interest to the defence and intelligence communities. As a result, a great deal of research (both secret and public) has gone into the development of materials that can hide objects from prying eyes – or at least radar systems. Now researchers in the US and the UK have claimed the first public success (Science).

David Smith and colleagues at Duke University in North Carolina have used specially-structured materials called metamaterials to create a device that can make an object almost invisible to the microwave radiation used in some radar systems. Based on a design by the physicist John Pendry of Imperial College, the cloak bends microwaves around the object, like water flowing around a smooth stone. This prevents the microwaves from being scattered or absorbed by the object, rendering it invisible to an observer.