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Video of "invisibility cloak" at TED

Carla Sinclair at 11:57 am Tue, Feb 26, 2013

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Ants and Stars: Bruce Sterling and Jasmina Tesanovic visit the Sardinia Radio Telescope in Italy

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Yesterday I linked to a video of Baile Zhang's "invisibility cloak," which was demoed at TED2013. The video was hosted by Dropbox, which killed the link (too much traffic). Here's a YouTube version of the same video, courtesy of Ben Kellogg.

See all TED2013 coverage

Carla Sinclair is the co-founder of bOING bOING and the founding editor-in-chief of CRAFT magazine. She has written several books, including Net Chick, The Happy Mutant Handbook, Signal to Noise, and Braid Crazy.

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Ants and Stars: Bruce Sterling and Jasmina Tesanovic visit the Sardinia Radio Telescope in Italy

The Snowden Principle

  • Brainspore

    The video was hosted by Dropbox, which killed the link (too much traffic).

    The video is still there, we just can’t see it.

    • Antinous / Moderator

      Also, there are four lights.

  • awjt

    OK, does the invisibility cloak only work on the bottom 5% of the sandwiched crystals?  Does it require the stripey background?  Does it require a certain surface to rest on?

    • rrh

      I’m going to bet that yes, it requires the stripey background. Otherwise, what’s the first thing you’d do to demonstrate something’s invisible? You wave your hand (or tweezers) behind it.

      • robuluz

        That’s going to impede tactical deployment a little. The 20 mile wide, 4 mile high stripy backdrop will be a tip off, but once they roll in the 2 mile high prism and then stand around whistling casually, the enemy will start to get suspicious.

        • awjt

           They’ll be dead by then, though mwahahahahah!

  • http://twitter.com/digitalArtform Joseph Francis

    I want a little periscope like that!

  • Roger Mercer

    And suddenly it’s not so magical. Looks like it wouldn’t work without the vertically homogenous background. 

  • http://vincenzoravina.tumblr.com/ Vincenzo Ravina

    Looks like Lubor’s Lens. Magicians have had this technology for a while now.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAlIDZEt4iw

  • secretdoubleagent

    Yay!  I personally can’t think of a single practical use for an invisibility cube that isn’t somewhere on the high jinks–trouble-making–law breaking–other unsocial behaviors spectrum.  Also, of course, military stuff.  But that might say more about me than invisibility cubes.

    • Brainspore

      Perhaps this technology could have useful light-bending applications if optical computing ever takes off?

    • Mark_Frauenfelder

      Magic tricks? Scientific study? For fun? I call all of those practical!

      • BunnyShank

         Art.

  • http://twitter.com/MrAaronSwainEsq Aaron Swain

    The big question is: can you still fire phasers and photon torpedoes while using it?

  • theSamLowry

    This video is very unconvincing.

  • Rhyolite

    This is photographed from one direction…how well does it work if you are off of the intended axis?

  • danegeld

    yeah, this works only on one direction, the background image is offset and the vertical stripes are needed to hide that fact. There are 360˚ invisibility metamaterials that work in the microwave regime, but you need materials with n < 0 to get it to work

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/65CSAR3QATRNKJW4NYNB2BESZE JohnQPublic

    maybe these will work for tiny drones

  • Gasface

    I hold the patent for making things invisible from only certain angles, when can I sue?

  • MrQuagmire

    What is this, an invisibility cloak for ants?

  • Blue Ninja

    So I told my Mom about this the other day (she’s in her 60′s). I said, “They’ve invented an invisibility cloak.” She asked, “Who did?” I said, “Scientists.” And she asked in all seriousness, “Are they Romulans?”

    I love my Mom.

  • brainflakes

    That’s not an invisibility cloak, that’s just a piece of perspex! All it’s doing is reflecting the vertical bars due to total internal reflection, it’s the “invisibility” equivalent of placing that orange strip under a slightly angled mirror.