Scientists have created the first device to render a 3d object invisible.
The device is able to hide an object from the human eye using wavelengths close to those that are visible to the human eye. Previously scientists have succeeded in making a 2d object invisible, but this technique meant that the object was only invisible from one specific angle.
The team led by Tolga Ergin of Germany has invented a photonic metamaterial which can influence the behaviour of light rays. "He proposed the idea of having an object hidden under a bump and making the bump disappear" said Ergin. "It's like a carpet mirror" he continued. "If you hide and object under it there is a bump, so you see distortion in the reflected image" "we put the carpet cloak on top of that bump and it bends the light so the distortion will dissapear"
The trick is to change the speed and direction the light travels this is done through changing the material's refractive index. This is done using a polymer crystal made up of very tiny rods, by changing the thickness of the rods you can change the ratio of air to polymer.
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