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The physics of invisibility cloaks

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Woman smiles with her body invisible
The physics of invisibility cloaks

SUBJECTS:  Science

YEARS:  5–6, 9–10


Could an invisibility cloak actually work?

Prashanth and Maria from MIT explore this idea and demonstrate the cool ways that light bounces, bends and mixes.

How do the wings of the Morpho Butterfly give clues about how an invisibility cloak could work?

How would light need to be channelled in order for something to seem invisible?


Acknowledgements

The Physics of Invisibility Cloaks by MIT's Science Out Loud, downloaded from PBS LearningMedia, http://www.pbslearningmedia.org. Rights to use this asset do not expire. Asset Copyright MIT+K12 Videos. Credits: Hosted by: Prashanth Venkataram & Maria Cassidy, Written by: Prashanth Venkataram, Additional scripting: Elizabeth Choe, George Zaidan, Tyler DeWitt, Science reviewer: Dr. Erik Christopher Dreaden, Executive producer: Elizabeth Choe, Director: George Zaidan Editors: Jessica Harrop, Per Hoel, Production assistants: Conor Olmstead, Dan Martin, Octopus footage (http://www.sciencefriday.com/videos/raw-footage-octopus-in-hiding) from the laboratory of Roger Hanlon (http://www.mbl.edu/bell/current-faculty/hanlon/), Lobster image by mensatic (http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/35926), Music: I dunno by grapes (http://ccmixter.org/files/grapes/16626), Special thanks: Erin Shannon & Boston Museum of Science; MIT Department of Physics J Lab; Prof. John Essigmann, Simmons Hall. Project funded by: MIT.



Date of broadcast: 26 May 2014


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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