A group of scientists from the University of Rochester in New York believes an invisibility cloak is possible.

They came to this conclusion after successful experiments using various lenses that made an object invisible to the naked eye without affecting other objects surrounding it.

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"The Rochester Cloak" is the first cloaking device that can provide three-dimensional, continuously multidirectional cloaking, said Joseph Choi, a graduate student who co-worked in the project.

Scientists only used inexpensive lenses with ready optics. The lenses were lined up layer by layer and scientists made sure that light passed through the center of the lenses.

When an object is placed in front of the lenses, a portion of it will appear invisible while the rest that doesn't cross the lens will remain in its normal state.

Choi added that successfully creating an invisibility cloak will benefit major industries and fields such as in medical surgery, military and interior design, among others.

Scientists have tried to develop cloaking devices before, but the processes involved are too complex and require the use of very expensive materials. In addition, the cloaking process isn't entirely successful since it can't hide or make the objects invisible in three-dimensions.

The work done by scientists from the University of Rochester was the most recent and comes close to the objective of the invisibility cloak.

The devices used don't cost that much either, Choi and his teammates only spent a little over a US$1,000 for the lenses and other materials needed for the project. They also believe that there are other possible ways to accomplish the same result by just spending a few hundred dollars.

Cloaking has been a fascination and a curiosity in the science field. Cloaking is deemed to have become popular because of Harry Potter movies and the book written by J. K. Rowling.

A one-minute long video of the cloaking project is posted on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtKBzwKfP8E

TagsHarry Potter, Invisibility Cloak, University of Rochester