Scientists at the Britannia Royal Navy College are working hard to make the idea of an invisible ship a reality using metamaterials that refract light in such a way that it "bends" around an object, making it appear as if it were invisible. This would only account for viewing with the naked eye however—naturally radar cloaking would be an important part of the equation. However, it appears that this technology may be able to accomplish a lot more.


Chris Lavers, a senior lecturer in remote sensing and sensors technology at the college believes that nanomaterials could help render the next generation of ships invisible to the naked eye, radar, and even heat seeking missiles—all while being completely quiet and impossible to detect based on their impact on the Earth's magnetic field. This isn't the first time we have heard about invisibility cloaking using similar methods, so here's hoping that something actually comes of it in the near future. [Physics World via Gizmag]