Scientists invent invisibility cloak made of tiny pieces of glass

It sounds like a far-fetched invention from science-fiction or fairytales. But US scientists have developed a working invisibility cloak made from small particles of glass. When light hits an object, it bounces off the surface and into the naked eye, making it visible. But researchers at Michigan Tech University have found a way of capturing infrared light and bending it around an object, making it invisible. At the moment the science is still based in the lab. But if the same results could be achieved with visible light, the shrouded object would disappear from sight. Professor Elena Semouchkina has developed a nonmetallic cloak that uses identical glass resonators made of chalcogenide glass, a type of material that does not conduct electricity. In computer simulations, the cloak made objects hit by infrared waves—approximately one micron or one-millionth of a metre long—disappear from view. It is the first time scientists have tried using glass to bend light in this way. Her invisibility cloak uses metamaterials, which are artificial materials with properties that do not exist in nature. These metamaterials are made of tiny glass resonators arranged in a concentric pattern in the shape of a cylinder. The 'spokes' of the circle produce magnetic resonance which bends light waves around an object, making it invisible. (Daily Mail)