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eof [soylentnews.org] writes:

According to the Los Angeles Times [latimes.com], Berkeley scientists have

created a thin metamaterial that can conform to irregularly shaped objects and render them invisible in certain wavelengths of light.

For now, this cloak is exceedingly small and covers only an object about 1,300 square microns. But the device, described in the journal Science, offers a proof of concept that could potentially be scaled up in the future.

[...]The new and improved cloak is covered with nanoantennas made of tiny gold blocks of different sizes that can counteract that distortion [due to scattered wavefronts], making it seem to an observer like the light is coming from a flat surface.

In principle, the cloak could also be used to make a two dimensional object appear three dimensional. The ability to cover irregularly shaped objects is new. Unfortunately, a cloak made using this technology would be like passive camouflage, but there is hope that it can be made active. Its present metallic composition is also a drawback since "metals absorb optical wavelengths of light, they actually make what they’re covering seem darker than their surroundings, which can be a dead giveaway." Currently the cloak only works for light of 730 nm.

The Science abstract. [sciencemag.org]

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