After millennia of storytelling about invisibility, 2006 saw the appearance of two papers which described how an object might be hidden by guiding light around it. In principle, this could render an object invisible. It was immediately nicknamed an ‘invisibility cloak’ – a nickname which, like ‘God Particle’, is just too compelling to surrender to grumbling good sense. The first experimental demonstration, which used microwaves rather than visible light, was published just months later.
In ‘Invisibility: The History and Science of How Not to Be Seen’ (Yale University Press, $30, ISBN 9780300250428), physicist and author Professor Gregory J Gbur describes the developments that led to the infamous ‘invisibility cloak’ papers, and the developments since.
Most of the book is dedicated to a comprehensive history of the science of light and matter, equipping the reader with a solid understanding of how light works from basic principles, and thus how it might...