WASHINGTON — They can’t match Harry Potter yet, but scientists are moving closer to creating a real invisibility cloak.
Researchers at Duke University, who developed a material that can “cloak” an item from detection using microwaves, report that they have expanded the number of wavelengths they can block.
In 2006, team members reported they had developed so-called metamaterials that could deflect microwaves around a three-dimensional object, essentially making it invisible to the waves.
The system works like a mirage, where heat causes the bending of light rays and cloaks the road ahead behind an image of the sky.
The researchers report in Thursday’s edition of the journal Science that they have developed a series of mathematical commands to guide the development of more types of metamaterials to cloak objects from an increasing range of electromagnetic waves.
The new cloak is made up of more than 10,000 individual pieces of fiberglass arranged in parallel rows. The mathematical formulas are used to determine the shape and placement of each piece to deflect the electromagnetic waves.
