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 Scientists said on Thursday they have successfully tested an
ultra-thin invisibility cloak made of microscopic rectangular gold
blocks that, like skin, conform to the shape of an object and can
render it undetectable with visible light.
The researchers said while their experiments involved cloaking a
miniscule object they believe the technology could be made to
conceal larger objects, with military and other possible
applications.
The cloak, 80 nanometers in thickness, was wrapped around a
three-dimensional object shaped with bumps and dents. The cloak's
surface rerouted light waves scattered from the object to make it
invisible to optical detection.
It may take five to 10 years to make the technology practical to
use, according to Xiang Zhang, director of the Materials Sciences
Division of the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory and a professor at the University of California,
Berkeley.
 "We do not see fundamental roadblocks. But much more work needs to
be done," said Zhang, whose research was published in the journal
Science.
The technology involves so-called metamaterials, which possess
properties not present in nature. Their surfaces bear features much
smaller than the size of a wavelength of light. They redirect
incoming light waves, shifting them away from the object being
cloaked.
The cloaking "skin" boasts microscopic light-scattering antennae
that make light bouncing off an object look as if it were reflected
by a flat mirror, rendering the object invisible.
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"The fact that we can make a curved surface appear flat also means
that we can make it look like anything else. We also can make a flat
surface appear curved," said Penn State University electrical
engineering professor Xingjie Ni, the study's lead author.
The researchers said they overcame two drawbacks of previous
experimental microscopic cloaks that were bulkier and harder to
"scale up," or become usable for larger objects.
Ni said the technology eventually could be used for military
applications like making large objects like vehicles or aircraft or
even individual soldiers "invisible."
Ni also mentioned some unconventional applications.
How about a cloaking mask for the face? "All the pimples and
wrinkles will no longer be visible," Ni said. How about fashion
design? Ni suggested a cloak that "can be made to hide one's belly."
(Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Eric Beech)
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