SCIENTISTS are a step closer to a Harry Potter-style invisibility cloak.
They have developed a device that makes solid objects completely vanish.
The gadget, called a spectral cloak, even worked in bright daylight in tests.
Canada-based research leader José Azaña said: “Our work represents a breakthrough in the quest for invisibility cloaking.”
The human eye sees light that bounces off objects. Objects reflect different light depending on their colour, for example green.
But in a new approach, optics scientists looked at altering light waves going through an object.
The cloak turns this light another colour, such as blue, as it goes through the green object.
The colour then reverts to green on the other side so the view is not distorted to our eyes.
This overcomes the problem faced by current cloaking devices, which bounce light around objects, causing a visible shimmer.
Other models work properly only when an object is illuminated with just one colour of light.
But white light is made up of several colours.
The technology could one day be used to make objects invisible from every direction.
MOST READ IN WORLD NEWS
It also offers hopes of making data transmitted over fibre-optic lines more secure, thwarting criminals.
In the films, boy wizard Harry inherits an invisibility cloak from his dad and uses it to spy on teachers and sneak around.
Researcher Luis Romero Cortes added: “Conventional cloaking solutions rely on altering the path of light around the object to be concealed.
“Our proposal avoids this by allowing the wave to travel through the target object rather than around it.”
GOT a news story? RING us on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL firstname.lastname@example.org