Engineers from Purdue University, with guidance of mathematical theories by UK physicists back in 2006, were able to come up with a theoretical design that uses an array of tiny needles radiating outward from a central spoke. The hairbrush-like device should be able to bend light around the object that's supposed to be cloaked, just like how the "Invisibility" cloak works.

The bending of light should result in the background behind the object being visible, but the object itself no where in sight. However, the design is only limited to one single wavelength at a time, and not the entire visible spectrum. But Vladimir Shalaev, a professor at Purdue, said that it is a design step toward creating an optical cloaking device that might work for all wavelengths of visible light.

As of this moment, the calculations based on the design indicate that the device should be capable of making an object invisible with a wavelength of 632.8 nanometers, which is in the range of the color red. Shalaev is positive, however, that the design is reusable for cloaking objects covering the entire spectrum.

The research findings will be available in detail this month in the Nature Photonics journal. This first week should herald the online availability of the paper, which is based on the research performed at the Birck Nanotechnology Center at Purdue's Discovery Park. You can click the "Read" link provided below to press details of the find.