Invisibility Cloak Created In 3-D 113
An anonymous reader writes "Scientists have created the first device to render an object invisible in three dimensions. The 'cloak,' described in the journal Science (abstract; full text requires login), hid an object from detection using light of wavelengths close to those that are visible to humans. Previous devices have been able to hide objects from light travelling in only one direction; viewed from any other angle, the object would remain visible. This is a very early but significant step towards a true invisibility cloak." The "object" hidden in this work was a bump one micrometer high. The light used was just longer than the wavelengths our eyes detect. To get a visible-light cloak, the features of the cloaking metamaterial would need to be reduced in size from 300 nm to 10 nm.
Factor 30 (Score:4, Informative)
A factor 30 in wavelength difference is not "just longer" than visible light nor "close to" it. Still, impressive work. And surely, they'll get closer and closer. But cloaking a micrometer high bump is still a few pathways away from Klingon tech.