Slovak scientists are working on making objects ‘disappear’ behind a magnetic field
Slovak researchers, along with their colleagues from NASA, are working on the creation of an “invisibility cloak” capable of fully hiding objects in front of a magnetic field, Fedor Gömöry from the Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (IEE SAS) told the Czech News Agency.
Knowledge obtained will be used to simulate the conditions in space, Gömöry said.
With the prepared cloak, the scientists want to examine the influence of the magnetic field on people and animals, he added.
“On Earth, the magnetic field influences every man, unlike in space,” Gömöry said.
Other research into the shielding of the magnetic field has focused on the use of the knowledge in lowering the corrosion of iron when used in construction, he added.
“Outside the cloak, the magnetic field is invisible. It can be done in principle but is not yet perfect,” Gömöry said.
“In reality, we have not managed to do it. The magnetic field is close to zero, but it is not quite zero,” Gömöry said about the results of the research in which the scientists have managed to reduce the strength of the magnetic field 10 million times.
The magnetic invisibility cloak comprises two layers of ferromagnetic and superconductive material, while the metal object hidden inside becomes invisible for magnetic radiation, such as metal detectors.