(CNN) Invisibility Has Long Been a Fantastical Ability Exclusively Enjoyed by Teenage Wizards

Science reveals secrets of invisibility

CNN Wednesday, August 9, 2006

Invisibility could one day be more than an optical illusion.

Invisibility has long been a fantastic ability exclusively enjoyed by teenage wizards, super heroes and the ultra-advanced civilisations of science fiction.

If you're a fan of Harry Potter, then you're quite familiar with the concept of an invisibility cloak. In his first year at Hogwarts Academy, Harry receives an invisibility cloak that used to belong to his father. In the real world, such a garment would be impossible, right? Not so fast! With optical-camouflage technology developed by scientists at the University of Tokyo, the invisibility cloak is already a reality.

The key to that possibility is the development of increasingly complex manmade composites engineered on a nano scale with properties entirely different to anything found in nature.

"What you want to do is to surround yourself with a transparent material that is not only transparent but bends (1) the light around you," says Leonhardt, a physicist at Scotland's St. Andrews University who has recently published two papers on the theory behind invisibility technology. Leonhardt said the principle was inspired by natural phenomena when light is bent to create optical illusions such a mirage in the desert. "All you need is a transparent material that bends light around an object, like water moving around a stone. The reason that is possible is because light will always take the shortest route, which is not always a straight line." The potential uses are remarkable, and extend far beyond optical illusions. Surgeons could use it to see through their own hands and surgical tools during operations. Another use could be in aviation where pilots could make cockpit floors transparent when landing their planes.

Words: To bend: to shape something into a curve or an angle