Is This a Real Invisibility Cloak?

December 18, 2017

  • Chen Shiqu, deputy head of the Criminal Investigation Department at China’s Ministry of Public Security, shared this video, claiming he was holding a “quantum invisibility cloak.” He said: “This is a quantum technology-made cloth that is made of transparent material, it can reflect the light wave around the person who wears it so it can make the person disappear.” The video quickly went viral in China, racking up over 21 million views on Weibo. Chen Shiqu was quoted as saying the technology would be helpful for the military, but worried about what might happen if it fell into the wrong hands. Sorry to burst your collective bubbles, but there’s no such thing as an invisibility cloak. Editors and visual effects specialists alike were quick to weigh in on the video. Zhu Zhensong of Quantum Video Production said: “Softwares such as Adobe’s After Effects, Nuke or Blackmagic Fusion can edit the background and blend the object into it. The effect has previously been seen in a lot of action movies.” Okay, so this video’s fake, but what would it take to make a real invisibility cloak? According to Life Noggin, researchers have been able to develop a kind of metamaterial only 80 nanometers thick that can alter how light is reflected. Of course, even if this material could be made into human cloak form, you’d still have to stand perfectly or else the effect would dissipate. What would you do if you had an invisibility cloak? Let us know in the comments below or at @WhatsTrending on Twitter!