Invisibility Research

[TurboSuper]

My question is how one would see out of a material like that. If it bends light, then wouldn't it avoid the wearer's eyes too?

[Hotwired]

Well if light cannot pass through it then you'd assume that anyone totally surrounded by it couldn't see out.

[starman]

Nothing like this will ever hit public markets. EVER. Too many potential uses in the commission of crimes. Although it's always nice to dream...

Having possession of something like that I could imagine will be made a felony similar to automatic weapons possession. You'll have to be licensed out the wazoo to have this technology.

[rp181]

it doesnt render the user compleatly invisable, just a little ghostly, using the anology of a rock in water, you can still see the water going around it, it doesnt like like the rock isnt there. Theres along way till true invisibilty is possiable.

[daxspudder]

Well STHORNE, youve jsut go to know that if they ever do hit the markets, the cops will of course have invisibility detectors. DUH. Haha

aka infrared

[Hotwired]

Well STHORNE, youve jsut go to know that if they ever do hit the markets, the cops will of course have invisibility detectors. DUH. Haha

aka infrared

A can of spraypaint and a big stick would be much more fun

[Pilgrimman]

I read about this on the internet about a year ago. At the time, the issue was finding a material with a negative refractive index that could "manipulate" a sufficient range of wavelengths. If it worked for visible light, it probably wouldn't for infrared. I don't know how far they've come since then, though. I think it was Duke or some place that had a proto-proto type of this system working, that could bend microwaves. I'm goona read up some more on this. Nice find

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

It's a great scientific discovery and the ONLY thing you think of are naked chicks.

It's the story of invention I'm afraid, I'll quote from Q(uite) I(interesting):

Bill: Erm . . . I know that, er, Louis Daguerre, who invented, er, the . . . photography--

Stephen: Mm?

Bill: Erm, he . . . this . . . he . . . a typical bloke, you see. He invented photography, and, er, a couple of days later, persuaded a local barmaid to take her top off so he could take a picture. That's blokes for you, isn't it, really? "I've invented photography, this wonderful, this . . . phwoar . . . " [trails off into indistinct sounds of depravity]

Stephen: Well, it was ever thus!

[POLAND_SPUD]

@JSR I knew you'd comment on this

[Ragnarok]

Turbosuper has hit one of the problems on the head. If you bend all the light around yourself, you become blind.

The other problems include that you'd still be visible to ultrasound/sonar type things - and although you can bend infra-red around you, you'll still emit it.

And a cloak would be useless. You'd look like a very mad heat haze that would bend light in nearly impossible ways. To be properly invisible, you'd need to bend the light consistently, and because of the way it works, any invisibility shield would need to be rigid.

Conventional clothing, because it's reasonably consistent in shape could give something that could give something that would be able to hide you in a haze as long as you weren't being looked at too closely.

[TurboSuper]

Well, I can imagine wearing it even partially would be useful for certain things, like for sniper teams or hunters. Things that require being less visible, but not completely invisible in every way imaginable.

Besides, to beat ultrasound, just hold a blanket in front of you

[Ragnarok]

Well, I can imagine wearing it even partially would be useful for certain things, like for sniper teams or hunters. Things that require being less visible, but not completely invisible in every way imaginable.

Sniper teams might get such a thing if they can get it to work, but hunters - no way. There is not a chance in hell any government would allow a civilian this stuff, there are two many ways it could be put to bad uses.

For a hunter, being seen is less of a problem than it is for a sniper team anyway - animals don't tend to shoot back.

Besides, to beat ultrasound, just hold a blanket in front of you

Yeah... an invisible blanket!

[paaiyan]

I remember reading about this stuff quite a while ago when it only worked for certain frequencies in the microwave range. This certainly has almost unlimited applications.

And rag, you're right. If it's not rigid it'll look just like heat waves, if it moves that is. Put it on a sniper team and despite the fact that the light will look a bit warped, they'll be using the colors of the surrounding environment rather than trying to replicate them with ghillie.

EDIT: And mythbusters proved that you can use a blanket to beat ultrasound-type motion detectors.

[TurboSuper]

EDIT: And mythbusters proved that you can use a blanket to beat ultrasound-type motion detectors.

I think his point was that they'd see the blanket since it would be outside the light-bending stuffs.

Oh well, I guess you'd have to pray they aren't using both cameras and ultrasound in the same room. Low security budget and stuff.

[psycix]

This technology wouldn't be very effective to use on airplanes. Many systems of today, working with stuff like radar and other smart detecting technologies, they do not need to have visual contact to hit.
Stealth fighters that manage not to show up on radar would already hide more effective then light-bending ones, since most of the detecting systems are radar.


@Turbosuper
Indeed, the wearer cannot see through so there would be some floating eyes if one wants to see his environment.
When you are completely invisible to the world, then the world also has to be invisible to you
Or there would be some technology that just sends sends out light on the place the eyehole is (and on the opposing side), letting light in, and also sending out some. Some advanced projecting technology (they already experimented with projecting to make objects invisible)

@daxspudder
If it bends light, it can also bend infrared light. (Might require a few tweaks).

@Ragnarok
Hmmm you seem to have worded most of my ideas.
-Yes, it would have to be ridgid, because bending light with a continously changing cloth-like material would seem impossible to me. I forsee something spherical or maybe just a cube.
-Radiating out infrared.... hmm didn't think of that. Well, there are ways to hide that right? Bending it to the ground or something
-Agree with the sonic thing, though not very practical, infrared sight (if that works) for instance, would be more practical. (notice the word "sight")