The Cloak Moves Closer

4:40 PM -- Earlier this year we reported, somewhat skeptically, that teams of scientists on both sides of the Atlantic were hard at work designing a Harry Potter-style invisibility cloak. (See Now You See Me...)

Now, science fiction is finally becoming science reality. The Anglo-American coneheads say they've successfully tested the technology at Duke University. Today, officals confirmed that the cloak has successfully deflected microwave beams, flowing around a "hidden" object inside the cloak. This, according to the Duke Website, made it appear almost as if nothing were there!

The cloak was built with so-called "metamaterials" -- copper rings and wires patterned onto sheets of fiberglass that interact with electromagnetic waves in ways other materials cannot.

Just think about the fun you could have with this type of technology -- and I dont mean only at HP board meetings.

Sadly, though, it may be some time before this becomes the corporate espionage tool of choice. At this stage, the "cloak" is still only 5 inches in diameter. Even Duke's researchers admit that this is a "baby step" for the technology.Watch this space (quite literally)...

— James Rogers, Senior Editor, Byte and Switch