#thermalinvisibility

[cchsstem1pf15]

“Thermal Invisibility” by Seth F.

Harry Potter used his invisibility cloak to sneak around Hogwarts. Well, cloaks like that have existed for a few years now, as well as ones that make the user invisible to even sound waves. Never before has the capability to make an object invisible to heat existed, but now, not even that is science fiction.

The “cloak”, designed by scientists in Singapore, uses a specially made metamaterial, the composition of which currently varies due to testing, combined with an electrical current to bend heat waves around the “cloak’s” surface, making anything underneath “invisible” to heat sensors. There was another version that attempted the same process in a more passive manner, without the use of the electrical current, though the effects weren’t as spectacular. The previous version also had significant problems fitting around certain objects but has since been resolved through simple re-designs.

Testing has just begun on the cloak, but possible applications range from more effective heat distribution in civilian clothing to military stealth suits capable of being “invisible” in three different spectrums. The future of the technology is nearly limitless, so let’s figure out how to use it.

                                                 Works Cited

American Institute of Physics (AIP). "A Thermal Invisibility Cloak Actively

         Redirects Heat." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 21 September 2015.

         www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150921112729.htm.