Professor Working On Practical Cloaking Device

Professor Ulf Leonhardt is working on a blueprint for a practical cloaking device that could even protect coastlines from water waves; a Royal Society's Theo Murphy Blue Skies award will allow Leonhardt to pursue full time for the next two years "turning science fiction into a reality"

A physicist at the University of St. Andrews hopes to make major advances in the tantalizing field of invisibility in the next two years. Professor Ulf Leonhardt, who cites the Invisible Woman and Harry Potter as sources of inspiration, is working on a blueprint for a practical cloaking device that could even protect coastlines from water waves. Now, thanks to funding from the Royal Society's Theo Murphy Blue Skies award, Professor Leonhardt will be able to pursue full time for the next two years "turning science fiction into a reality."

The researcher, who describes his invisibility work as "geometry, light and a wee bit of magic," is inspired by optical illusions, Arabia, and the imagination of his children. He said,

The idea of invisibility has fascinated people for millennia, inspiring many myths, novels and films. In 2006, I began my involvement in turning invisibility from fiction into science, and, over the next two years, I plan to develop ideas that may turn invisibility from frontier science into applicable technology.

Technology is the modern form of magic; imagine your ancestor being transported into the future - they never thought it possible that people could fly or talk to others in different parts of the world. Fantastical, magical things are possible in principle; the question is whether you can turn them into practice, and that depends largely on ideas, which are even more essential than the development of new materials.
...homelandsecuritynewswire.com...

Wow, Technology These Days ^_^ What Do You Think Of This?

"Protect coastlines from waves"? Sounds like more than invisibility, more like deflector shields.

Very interesting.

This sounds amazing, would be good to see in person, although i am not holding my breath. The 'optical illusion' and 'a little bit of magic' quotes makes me skeptical at what it would turn out like and would not be like what we are all imagining. Could be extremely useful though.

reply to post by danrid


Yes, I Agree, That Did Throw Me Off A Little, But I Bet Some Of The Greatest Inventions Have Some Of The Weirdest Inspirations ! XD

Originally posted by infolurker
"Protect coastlines from waves"? Sounds like more than invisibility, more like deflector shields.

Very interesting.

From the things I have read, they are interlinked. There was one case a while ago, an american proffesor developing a 'tractor beam' that could pick objects up, regardless of weight.

The full description of the machine was not given, but it was described that a rotating (hi rpm 10,000 i think, maybe higher) piece of the machinery on the top had began to turn 'hazy' and distorted, the higher these revs went, eventually causing partial invisibility of the machine.

I think this principle was used in the Philadelphia project, charging the hull of a ship to render is invisible. The difference I'm guessing is that the 'accidental' invisibility was caused by the EM field given off by the machinery, where as the EM field around the ship was induced to create the effect.

As we know, it didn't quite go as planned.

All hearsay and conjecture, don't believe it if you don't want to.

EMM