Researchers have proposed a new way to create and inexpensive "invisibility cloak" inspired by the one used in the "Harry Potter" series.
In the past researchers have come up with several methods for hiding objects from view, but this new study demonstrated a way to get around some of the roadblocks that have been seen in previous devices, the University of Rochester reported.
"There've been many high tech approaches to cloaking and the basic idea behind these is to take light and have it pass around something as if it isn't there, often using high-tech or exotic materials," said John Howell, a professor of physics at the University of Rochester.
The researchers developed a method employing four standard lenses that keep objects hidden as the viewer moves away from the optimal viewing position.
"This is the first device that we know of that can do three-dimensional, continuously multidirectional cloaking, which works for transmitting rays in the visible spectrum," said graduate student Joseph Choi.
Some past devices have been effective when the object was looked at straight on, but changing the viewpoint would reveal the object in question. Many of these devices have also been known to significantly alter the background, making itself obvious to the viewer.
To get around these obstacles researchers determined the exact amount of power needed as well as the precise distance between the four lenses required to effectively cloak objects.
To test the device the researchers placed it in front of a grid background and looked through the lens while altering their viewing angle. The grid proved to shift as if the cloaking device was not there at all. The Rochester Cloak can use larger lenses to cloak even larger objects, and can work for the entire visible spectrum of light.
"This cloak bends light and sends it through the center of the device, so the on-axis region cannot be blocked or cloaked," Choi said.
The cloaked region is shaped like a "doughnut" and has an edge effect, but these problems can be sorted out using larger lenses and more complicated designs that have already been formulated.
The findings have been submitted to the journal Optics Express.
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