Invisibility – old desire, new gun by Barbora Misakova

When we look back, history is telling lot of stories about antique gods, their magical abilities and on the other hand about ordinary people, whose always wanted to be like them. Wanted flying high like only birds can fly, being immortal, being strong that no one could defeat them, and one of these endless human desires was also ability of being invisible. Moving without being seen, what a gift! People were always obsessed by things they cannot have. And this desire stuck in human minds for thousands years. I would bet that I was not only one who was green with envy when Harry Potter got his invisible cloak. That cloak which allowed him walking late at night at school's dark and silent corridors without being seen. Cloak which let him move wherever he wants. Or what about Claude from Heroes and his super ability which helped him stay alive? He could steal wallets and food from shops so he didn't have to go to work every day. He could go to the cinema anytime he wanted and without paying, he just could go wherever and do whatever he wanted, because he was invisible. No one could stop him.

Imagine this ability would be something normal, something common, something what could be allowable for everyone. The truth is that scientists are developing invisibility cloak, and they say they are closer again to develop materials needed for building up this cloak which could make us invisible. The point is to create cloak from materials which could redirect light around the objects. As people and all others two and three-dimensional objects are creating reflections or shadows which make them visible, researchers from University of California, Berkley are more than dedicated to one thing – create such a material, which could help us not to make reflections. And it looks like they were very close to their aim. They are developing materials called metamaterials which are mixtures of metal and circuit board materials such as Teflon or ceramic which were already tested, and it worked! And even though tests are not finished, invisibility is not such a dream as it used to be anymore. But imagine what could happen when such a cloak would really exist. Untouchable desire is one thing, reality is another. Thousands magnates giving big bucks of money just to have one, governments of all countries around the world fighting for it. And I don't want to imagine all those wars with such a gun (and also because of such a gun). Longing for something what we can never had is more romantic, than to have it. Everything has two sides, and I am afraid, that with this super hero ability just more bloody times could come.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080811/ap_on_sc/sci_invisibility_cloak;_ylt=Aln_nrfHMTT1yAKH3Y_Aq.Ks0NUE

by Barbora Misakova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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edited by Beata Biskova