Invisibility Cloaks Aren't Humanly Possible Thanks to Physics: University of Texas Researchers
Invisibility via "Magical" Cloaks Not Happening Anytime Soon or Ever
University of Texas Researchers says that the laws of physics pretty much get in the way of making invisibility cloaks.
Sorry, Harry Potter fans. The Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas stated that while it is possible to cloak certain smaller sized objects, invisibility cloaks big enough to hide humans may not be possible.
Physics Gets in the Way
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The reason why humans cannot be hidden under cloaking devices or invisibility cloaks is because our bodies have different wavelengths. The laws of physics also mandate thta the bigger the object that is intended to be hidden, the more challenging it is to make it "invisibile."
Invisibility cloaks are made with passive materials or metamaterials. These are stuff that can absorb or bend light without having to get energy from another source. The bigger the object, the more visible light waves it emits which makes it harder to cloak than smaller ones. The details of the study are published online in the journal Optica.
Research Points Out Factors That Need to Be Addressed for their Cloaking Technique
The researchers hope to use their findings to develop any technique to get as close to the limits. Graduate student Francesco Monticone, alongside his colleagues, developed the framework that can determine how successfully an object can be cloaked.
Unforgiving Laws of Physics
Lead researcher Andrea Alù explained that there is no possible way to develop invisibility cloaks similar to the ones in "Harry Potter" movies. Alù adds that Einstein's Theory of Relativity perfectly explains why "magical" cloaks severely limit the functions of invisibility cloaks, Huffington Post noted.
However, there may be other methods to achieve the feat. Monticone adds that making invisibility cloaks come to life may just be a matter of finding the right material and technique. He said in a press release that the research team has been looking at other cloaking techniques that do no coincide with the limits of their findings.
"Alternatively, we can aim for looser forms of invisibility, as in cloaking devices that introduce phase delays as light is transmitted through, camouflaging techniques, or other optical tricks that give the impression of transparency, without actually reducing the overall scattering of light," Monticone said.
Do you think one day we will be able to have invisibility cloaks like Harry Potter? Let us know what you think about cloaking devices and share your opinions in the comments down below.
