In praise of - invisibilIty.

Columnist

Wednesday 8 February 2012

TOP scientists struggle with two things, and I share their pain.

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by robert mcneil

These aforementioned things – if that's the word – are time and invisibility.

I don't have time to discuss the first of these, but the second sees me excited. Invisibility has long fascinated the human and other races. Wouldn't it be wonderful? Well, yes and, arguably, no.

It would be wonderful if you were the one invisible, stravaiging hither and yonwards unnoticed. Even unreconstructed gawpers, such as people from the Mediterranean or the Far East, wouldn't have a handle on the situation. You could cock a snook – or whatever else comes to hand – at them, and how many scoobies would they possess? Correct: none.However – and it's a rare newspaper article that doesn't feature a paragraph beginning with the "h" word – the shoe would be elsewhere if other people were invisible and invading your demesne. It's a tricky problem, demanding a manual on etiquette and probably some legislation. But, hey, let's not get carried away. Things – I'm convinced that's the right word – are at an early stage. That said, I was intrigued to read the other day that researchers have already managed to "cloak" a three-dimensional object, making it invisible.I won't blind you with science but basically – ken? – they use a shell of plasmonic material to present a photo negative of the object, effectively cancelling it out. And, yes, I've just copied that from something. More importantly, it's another example of things (yup, definitely the word) from Star Trek coming true. Consider: we already live in a world full of beeping, and doors swish open at our approach. However – there it is again, this time buried in a paragraph – as I said, there's a long way to go.Certainly, if invisibility ever does happen, I won't be around to see it.

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In praise of - invisibilIty.

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