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A British-led team of scientists has made the first big step into the future by creating a device which makes things invisible.
The Star Trek-style "cloaking device" measures less than five inches across and only responds to radar waves.
But within five years there might be devices powerful enough to make whole vehicles "vanish" - including battlefield tanks.
An invisibility cloak blueprint was produced in May by Professor Sir John Pendry, a physicist at Imperial College London. Just five months later, scientists working with him in the US have put the idea into practice.
The concept involves bending visible light, or other forms of electromagnetic radiation such as radar, around the object being hidden.
An observer looking at the cloaked object will see light deflected from behind, making it seem to disappear.
Sir John said: "The previous paper was all theory, explaining how it could be done, but the real challenge was to make the unusual materials needed for a working device.
"It's all been done in a time scale much shorter than I had envisaged. This cloaking device is just a demonstration showing that you can get radiation where you want it to be.
"There's still some development to do, but I would have thought that in five years you'd be seeing some sort of practical realisation of this technology.
"It's probably too heavy for aircraft, and making objects as big as buildings disappear might be difficult. But it would be ideal for hiding a tank."
Source ITN
The Star Trek-style "cloaking device" measures less than five inches across and only responds to radar waves.
But within five years there might be devices powerful enough to make whole vehicles "vanish" - including battlefield tanks.
An invisibility cloak blueprint was produced in May by Professor Sir John Pendry, a physicist at Imperial College London. Just five months later, scientists working with him in the US have put the idea into practice.
The concept involves bending visible light, or other forms of electromagnetic radiation such as radar, around the object being hidden.
An observer looking at the cloaked object will see light deflected from behind, making it seem to disappear.
Sir John said: "The previous paper was all theory, explaining how it could be done, but the real challenge was to make the unusual materials needed for a working device.
"It's all been done in a time scale much shorter than I had envisaged. This cloaking device is just a demonstration showing that you can get radiation where you want it to be.
"There's still some development to do, but I would have thought that in five years you'd be seeing some sort of practical realisation of this technology.
"It's probably too heavy for aircraft, and making objects as big as buildings disappear might be difficult. But it would be ideal for hiding a tank."
Source ITN
