A cloak of invisibility may be common in science fiction but it is not so easy in the real world. New research suggests such a device may be moving closer to reality.
Scientists said on Thursday (September 17) they have successfully tested an ultra-thin invisibility cloak made of microscopic rectangular gold blocks that, like skin, conform to the shape of an object and can render it undetectable with visible light.
The researchers said while their experiments involved cloaking a miniscule object they believe the technology could be made to conceal larger objects, with military and other possible applications.
The cloak, 80 nanometers in thickness, was wrapped around a three-dimensional object shaped with bumps and dents. The cloak’s surface rerouted light waves scattered from the object to make it invisible to optical detection.
What if you had a holster that was made with a cloak of invisibility? You could have the comfort and access of open carry with the discreetness of concealed carry.
Or, if you had the cloak of invisibility on your gun, the offender wouldn’t know if you were pointing a gun at him or bluffing with an empty hand.
(Maybe the round black hole floating in front of your hand would be the giveaway. I don’t know.)
Oh great, CNN quoting Reuters, now *there*’s a reliable collection of sources… 🙂
The article says that this widget makes the thing it wraps look like a flat mirror. That’s faintly interesting, but to describe a flat mirror as “invisible” does not make any sense at all.
For the same reason I don’t want camo patterning on my shotgun, I don’t want a cloak of invisibility on my handgun.
I want to be able to see the damn thing when I want it, when I need it, when I use it.
Ducks may be fooled that those noisy, blasting Fall Wetland patterned objects aren’t shotguns, but I bet more than one duck hunter has spent an hour with a flashlight trying to find where he put it down when he went to pee before heading back to the truck at sunset.
Likewise, if I reach into my nightstand and don’t immediately grasp my handgun, and turn on the light and still don’t see it, I don’t want to have to do a tactile search of the entire room just because I left it holstered inside my yesterday’s pants on the dresser.
Give me a gun I can see, that anyone else can see, and that might deter someone from continuing an attack because I’ll be holding it, pointing it at them, getting ready to stop their attack.
Give me an invisible gun and I might just as well make “Pew, Pew!” noises while pointing my finger, especially if I could not find my gun.
I suspect the “invisible” portion of where your hip ought to be would be problematic at best when it comes to hiding your gun holster. Anyway, most holster designs leave at least some portion of the gun uncovered; the handle of a pistol floating around alongside your hip might just attract the attention of the casual passerby.
I still don’t think technology has reached a point where it could hide Glock ugly. 3,2,1…….