NEW YORK (TIP): A Singapore-based scientist has developed a Harry Potterstyle ‘invisibility cloak’ which can shield objects behind it. Baile Zhang of Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University showed off his ‘magical’ device earlier this week at TED2013 conference in Long Beach, California.
Despite being branded a cloak, the gadget is actually a box: two pieces of calcite, a natural carbonate mineral that can bend light and suppress shadows around objects, pieced together, New York Daily News reported. But it shares the same principles as the robe donned by the famous movie wizard, said Zhang. In the Potter movies and books, the invisibility cloak completely shields the wearer from sight and cannot be worn out by time or spells. 31-year-old Zhang told BoingBoing his latest creation, first dreamed up in 2010, was developed “more as a hobby than a serious breakthrough”. In a video posted to YouTube Zhang demonstrates the device’s ability to make things disappear. He passes a rolled-up Post-it note, in front of a patterned background, by the box. When the note is behind the cloak, neither can be seen.