Could Harry Potter’s Invisibility Cloak Be Real??
Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak has been deemed pure science fiction, However, Caltech researchers have recently announced they have indeed devised a way to refract light which could realistically lead to the development of such an invisibility tool.
Researchers elaborated on this verity, confirming that they have developed a way to make visible light travel in the opposite direction that it normally bends when passing from one material to another — a process which is otherwise known as negative refraction. Such a process could be manipulated to construct optical microscopes for seeing things as small as molecules, or even bend light to render objects invisible.
Henri Lezec, a Physics researcher explained that when a pencil is placed in a glass of water at an angle, it appears to bend upward and outward if viewed from above. The effect is the result of light dispersing differently by separate materials, such as the water in the glass and the air outside it.
But physicists believe optical materials could be developed that would make the pencil appear to bend at the same angle, but in the opposite direction.
The Caltech development takes advantage of a field of study called plasmonics, which involves the “squeezing” of light to create negative refraction.
Jennifer Dionne, a graduate student in applied physics, said the breakthrough could have several applications.
“You might be able to see DNA and protein molecules clearly just be looking at them, without having to use a more complicated method like X-ray crystallography,” she said.
The possibility of a “invisibility cloak” would involve a divide that surrounds an object and bends light in such a way that it would be perfectly refocused on the opposite side, rendering the object inside the cloak invisible.
“Of course, anyone inside the cloak would not be able to see out,” Professor Harry Atwater said.
The group’s findings have been reported in Thursday’s edition of the online publication Science Express.
Researchers elaborated on this verity, confirming that they have developed a way to make visible light travel in the opposite direction that it normally bends when passing from one material to another — a process which is otherwise known as negative refraction. Such a process could be manipulated to construct optical microscopes for seeing things as small as molecules, or even bend light to render objects invisible.
Henri Lezec, a Physics researcher explained that when a pencil is placed in a glass of water at an angle, it appears to bend upward and outward if viewed from above. The effect is the result of light dispersing differently by separate materials, such as the water in the glass and the air outside it.
But physicists believe optical materials could be developed that would make the pencil appear to bend at the same angle, but in the opposite direction.
The Caltech development takes advantage of a field of study called plasmonics, which involves the “squeezing” of light to create negative refraction.
Jennifer Dionne, a graduate student in applied physics, said the breakthrough could have several applications.
“You might be able to see DNA and protein molecules clearly just be looking at them, without having to use a more complicated method like X-ray crystallography,” she said.
The possibility of a “invisibility cloak” would involve a divide that surrounds an object and bends light in such a way that it would be perfectly refocused on the opposite side, rendering the object inside the cloak invisible.
“Of course, anyone inside the cloak would not be able to see out,” Professor Harry Atwater said.
The group’s findings have been reported in Thursday’s edition of the online publication Science Express.
Posted on March 23rd, 2007 by Administrator
Filed under: Harry Potter News
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