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Humans have long been fascinated by the concept of invisibility. From H.G. Wells’ Invisible Man to Harry Potter’s cloak of invisibility, purveyors of fiction have pondered what one would do if one could move about unseen. Invisibility is often portrayed as a perfect transparency— ala the Invisible Man— however this method is in conflict with the laws of nature as we understand them. Moreover, a transparent person would be plagued with a host of difficulties that seem quite insurmountable. Any consumed food or drink would be embarrassingly visible as it meanders through the digestive system, and these visible nutrients would immediately begin to integrate into the body. That’s to say nothing of wardrobe problems and social difficulties.
The competing approach to invisibility involves some sort of cloaking device to route photons around an object. This method is somewhat more feasible, but of course it comes with its own unique set of complications. For instance, if all the outside light is diverted around something, no light is able to reach an observer inside, leaving them unable to see out.
These difficulties and others have long left all serious speculation about invisibility lodged safely in the distant future. But this is no longer so. In October of 2006, Professor Sir John Pendry of the Imperial College London announced the successful creation of a rudimentary cloaking device which nudges the idea a bit closer to reality. Perhaps most surprising of all, the whole concept rests on a fairly simple physical principle of light— one that requires no electricity to operate, and that every high-schooler learns in basic physics.
In essence, Sir John’s invisibility cloak relies on refraction, the same property of light seen when a prism casts a rainbow. Refraction can also be seen by poking a pencil into a glass of water. The underwater portion will appear to be offset from the rest because of the bending of light as it moves from one medium to another— from water to air. A few years ago Sir John and his physicist friends reflected upon the idea of using refraction to bend light completely around an object. If this were possible, the light would emerge on the other side, unchanged, as if the object were not there at all.
Of course this simple idea isn’t quite so simple in application. The researchers’ first obstacle was the precision light-bending this method requires. There simply weren’t any materials with quite the right properties to bend light in the necessary semi-circle, nor were any naturally occurring materials good candidates for the position. So the scientists looked to metamaterials— substances whose electromagnetic properties are dependent upon tightly designed internal structures rather than on their chemical composition.
Guided by a theoretical design published in an earlier paper, and working in concert with researchers at Duke University, Sir John and his team created a five-inch round cloak using a metamaterial structured in two-dimensional concentric rings, specifically designed for this purpose. This unique configuration is thought to be one of the most complex metamaterial structures ever made. Their first goal was to make a material that was “invisible” to microwave radiation since microwaves are a longer wavelength than visible light— millimeters rather than nanometers— and therefore easier to manipulate.
In the laboratory the researchers placed their cloak inside a test chamber, turned on the microwave emitter, and monitored the detector on the other side. Their spiffy new metamaterials worked flawlessly. The inside of the small cloak was completely unaffected by the microwaves aimed at it, while the outside registered readings as if the cloak weren’t there at all.
Of course, the need for the right materials isn’t the only difficulty in making a true invisibility cloak. If they wish to develop their prototype into something less limited, Sir John’s team must address a number of issues. First is the wavelength problem. The cloak as it currently exists can only work for a very narrow range of wavelengths. In the context of visible light, it’s as if the cloak was only invisible to red light, while still perfectly visible in blue. Broadening the range means making the cloak significantly thicker, which could severely limit applications. Additionally, creating metamaterials which can do the same for visible wavelengths is considerably more tricky, since the metamaterial’s precision structures must be as small as the wavelength they are meant to affect, and visible light waves are on the scale of millionths of a millimeter.
The other weakness in the current design is that the invisibility only works in one plane. The object enclosed by it cannot be seen from the side, but it can be seen clearly from above or below. To remedy this, Sir John and some of his co-authors at Duke are working to push the cloak into the third dimension. Should they succeed with both of these challenges a new difficulty emerges— if the object within the cloak is invisible to the outside world, then no light is able penetrate the cloak, and therefore any occupants would be blind. This is not necessarily a problem if one wishes to hide a stationary object, but it creates difficulty when one wants to conceal people or cameras. Allowing a cloak to work effectively while on the move presents yet another challenge.
Naturally the military has expressed interest in the budding technology, as well as providing funding for its development. Of particular interest is the fact that radar wavelengths are very close to that of microwaves, meaning that a radar-invisible cloak will be possible much sooner than one which is invisible to the eye. This would provide the armed forces with a radar-defeating technology far beyond even that of current stealth aircraft.
Even though all of the wrinkles have yet to be ironed out, the basic breakthrough proves that the concept has merit. An invisibility cloak exists. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) hopes that Sir John’s cloaking device can help make some of their problems disappear within the next few years, and civilian applications could soon follow. In any case, it is now certain that an invisibility cloak will someday be possible. Whether or not it is practical remains to be seen.
Further reading:
Imperial College London press release
MSNBC report on theories of invisibility
Instructional video: How Not to be Seen
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first??? what??
OK… real comment now…
Good article, no DAMN interesting since this topic has been floating around for a bit… but interesting for sure. Hopefully there will be future updates on this one though as they develop?
Sure they could get it to bend various electromagnetic frequencies, but what about debris? You know, rain, snow, ash, and so forth.
So if they succeed, wouldn’t the ‘cloak’ itself be invisible? How are you going to find it when you need it?
Does anyone think this is a hoax? Invisibility Cloaks
If I were invisible, I’d totally freak out my roommates.
YES!!! I’ve been reading about these materials alot! It’ so cool! I read that these materials use nano sized LC circuits that are capable of transmiting light.
It’s neat cause at the designated wavelength the permiability and permitivity are negative when passing through a metamaterial as oppose to transparent materials where both values are positive. Ususally, opage materials have one of the two values being negative. So the index of refraction that is given by the square root of the two values does not exist. Therefore that wavelength does not pass through. The negative values in metamaterials allow them to transmit light cause the square root can be evaluated! (I need to do more reading on this one) Ahh! That’s awesome! It’s like mega pie! with extra whip cream!
Love the Monty Python! Damn Interesting!
ballaerina said: “Does anyone think this is a hoax? Invisibility Cloaks
If I were invisible, I’d totally freak out my roommates.”
I’ve read about those too! They use a special material that reflects light in a weird way. It has a projector projecting the image of what is behind him. It’s still pretty cool though. Almost like pie.
Almost like pie, but not quite.
If I was invisible, I’d be a puppeteer. That would be Damn Scary.
visible light waves are on the scale of millionths of a millimeter
Just a little nitpick…visible-light photons have wavelengths from 3800 to 7600 ångströms, or 0.36 to 0.78 thousandths of a millimeter. (I know, it can still be described as “millionths”, if you mean “hundreds of millionths”….)
Thanks for the update on this nifty technology, Lady Cynthia!
What flavor is invisible pie?
…wouldn’t it be easier to develop a two-dimensional war? Then the cloaking device, as it sits now and as described above, would be a great asset. Just a thought. Then again, no war is a good war!
Dude, have you ever read “Things Not Seen” by Andrew Clement? The basis for Bobby’s invisibility is refracted light… although not in this way, I admit.
Very interesting article. I love this kind of research, but I can’t imagine a scenario were humans wouldn’t use this to find better ways to harm other humans. For practical jokes it’d be priceless. :)
Also, can this technology be used to make “first posts” and “pie comments” invisible?
I’m invisible, you’re reading what i’ve written but you can’t see me… A really fun cloak to have would be invisible, inaudible, insmellable, intasteable…
hahaha! i love the picture of the ‘invisibile man’… just a pair of foot and buttock imprints on a velvet chair. i’d heard about this before, but not in this much detail. good article. metamaterials, eh… interesting..
The military has also been experimenting with invisibility they have an outfit with thousands of tiny cameras that reflect the image of what the soldier is on
How do we know they haven’t perfected invisibility? After all, how would we know?
texnation said: “How do we know they haven’t perfected invisibility? After all, how would we know?”
It’d be on CNN…
Nicely done Miss Wood!!
“Sir John and his team created a five-inch round cloak using a metamaterial structured in two-dimensional concentric rings, specifically designed for this purpose.”
OK, so if I’m reading this right, then it suggests another problem with making this idea work for general applications… The object you intend to cloak would have to be round. Or, at least, the cloaking device would have to be round rings attached to the object you wish to cloak. I’m trying to imagine an F-117 with these giant concentric rings bolted to it as it’s flying through the air… But, at least we’d know they can’t fire their photon torpedoes while cloaked… :-)
I read once about London scientists creating an invisibility ray. it was like a really complex flashlight that made things perfectly invisible. I would recommend searching for more info about that as I am too lazy to look it up for you at the moment.
Oh also, is this invisibility cloak you wrote about an actual cloak? like fabric? is it like two parallel panels? are there any pictures? and please please when they come out with invisibility cloaks that work for every kind of light, please post pictures of those as well.
As for pie, if a pie is baked but there is no one to see it, does it even have a taste?
Damn good article, Senora Brook!
Gee, I thought I was going to have to write something, uh, well… well-informed after reading this post. But after scrolling through the comments I don’t feel out of line to ask:
How can we know there isn’t already a successfully developed invisibility cloak?
ballaerina said: “Does anyone think this is a hoax? Invisibility Cloaks
If I were invisible, I’d totally freak out my roommates.”
This looks like a hoax to me. If the “invisible” objects were green (think green screen sfx) then you could use fairly simple video keying to make them look transparent.
Now this is just too cool!
This would provide the armed forces with a radar-defeating technology far beyond even that of current stealth aircraft.
Would one of yall please explain to this silly old gal(in simple language if possible) how stealth craft are invisible?
Great article dear Cynthia, and Damned Interesting to boot! Thank you !! And thanks also to Ballaerina for the great video clips!!
rev.felix said: “What flavor is invisible pie?”
I give up, what flavor would that be? ;)
Here’s a Q. for you rev.felix :
What is invisible and smells like worms?
LOL
HarleyHetz said: “It’d be on CNN…”
Touche, HarleyHetz
Metamaterials that can negatively refract visible light have in fact already been synthesized. Just to let ya know.
Think of all the ass***es that would use this to demonstrate the existence of God, or paranormal activities.
“Naturally the military has expressed interest in the budding technology, as well as proving funding for its development.”
I’m no English expert but should the word “proving” in this sentence not be providing? Maybe even approving?
Ah! DI but gimme Harry Potters invisibility cloak anyday!!!
Has anyone else heard of Jasper Maskelyne? He was a stage magician during WWII who worked for the British Army, deployed in the Western Desert. He was apparently able to hide the Suez canal from German bombers using optical illusions.
First post @ DI for me as well.
Plank said: “I’m no English expert but should the word “proving” in this sentence not be providing? Maybe even approving?”
You are correct… it’s now fixed. Thanks.
Great job Cynthia! Hope I live to see this materialize. Success in this field will be limited however to those who believe in things they cannot see. hehe.
Floj, invisible pie eaten in sunlight would appear to be a blueberry cream, but I think it would taste like rhubarb. We’ll have to wait and see.
Too bad that posted expletives are not invisible.
The picture showing someone wearing a cloak in Japan is not a hoax. The cloak has many fiber optic cables and is meant transmit the light on one side to the other. You can see videos of it in action. The reason why is is blurry and green is because it is a very early technology, and doesn’t really make you invisible, just harder to see.
You can access the article here
http://www.time.com/time/2003/inventions/invinvisible.html
As I said, it’s not invisibility, it’s a form a “optical camouflage”, which is still really cool nonetheless. It might not be perfect, but it would make you damn hard to hit in a military situation.
Actually, when I did a bit more research from the University of Tokyo site, it seems to me that the technology involves projection and light refraction, and is actually very complicated. You can find out more about the technology by using google or go to an excellent site “howstuffworks.com” which has a lot about it.
Tink said: “Now this is just too cool! Would one of yall please explain to this silly old gal(in simple language if possible) how stealth craft are invisible?”
Radar (Radio Detection and Ranging) works by sending out Radio Frequency (RF) waves and reading the reflected waves. Additionally, the difference in the frequency and wavelength of these waves can be measured to show the speed and direction of movement of the object reflected (or the sending transmission or both). Stealth works to defeat radar by preventing the RF from being returned to the transmission site. This is accomplished by any combination of: preventing the RF from being reflected at all (using materials that effectively absorb the RF), and/or preventing the materials from being reflected back to the source (i.e changing the direction of the reflection.) Traditional, aerodynamics have caused aircraft, watercraft, etc. to be constructed with rounded surfaces. And the strength constraints on the vehicles also meant they were (at least on the outside) covered in metal. While making the vehicle stronger and more aerodynamic, these combined to provided the ideal medium to reflect RF waves back to the transmission source. (Think of the classic kid’s picture of a sun and sun rays – with the rays generating out equally from the round sun. If you consider these rays as RF, that’s how Radar reflection works.) So the first solution is to use a less aerodynamic shape as it would generate less RF reflections back to the source because some of the RF would be effectively ‘canceled out’ by opposing waves reflecting against each other. Next, RF absorbing materials covering the Radar Cross section of the jet/boat would further reduce it’s ‘footprint’ on traditional radar scopes which show the reflected radar as ‘blips’ each pass of the radar. (Except for the Aegis system, which is another topic). Another concern for Stealth vehicles is their heat signature as IR (infra-red) is being increasingly used in military surveillance applications and has long been used in missiles like the AIM Sidewinders – one of the primary air to air weapons in use today. So stealth can’t use afterburners (which burn extra fuel to increase speed – also increasing their heat signature), and are much slower in general and less maneuverable than other craft. Additionally, while cutting edge stealth technology is very good at present, defeating stealth technology is catching up. So, not only does radar (seeing planes) work differently than the human eye in that making something ‘invisible’ by bending light (tricking the human eye) is not the same as stealth (tricking RF), even if the technology was advanced enough it would likely be soon defeated. The only current military application I can see for invisibility cloaks is for slower moving vehicles more likely to be (also) viewed and tracked by the human eye such as helicopters or ships. Now, when the technology has advanced enough to allow the much higher frequency (than visible light) of RF to be bent around an object, and the heat signature problem is resolved, then it may be militarily viable.
Some links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar
http://people.howstuffworks.com/question69.htm
Interesting article. I have read about metamaterial quite a bit. However as we all know, there is an easier answer. The first rule in not being seen, is not standing up. Pie anyone?
Seriously, just to nit pic. In describing Well’s character, and his visible food problem, there is an even trickier problem. If his corneas are invisible he would be blind. Otherwise, we would have a pair of disembodied free floating eyes, which in anybodies book, is pretty cool.
Would one of yall please explain to this silly old gal(in simple language if possible) how stealth craft are invisible?”
Simply put, ya ever shoot a garden hose at the side of a house? The water splashes in all directions, including right back at ya. thats the way radar works. Stealth is using angular shapes to shoot the reflections off at a angle so it won’t be detected, Radar absorbant material (or RAM) is like having sponges all over the object. Active stealth or Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) are tricks that the stealth objects uses to confuse the radar recievers. Interestedone needs to remember his security briefings AND his non-disclosure statemates before the men in black come to see him GRIN
Kafka said: “The picture showing someone wearing a cloak in Japan is not a hoax.
The Japanese guy in the raincoat is nothing more than front-projection, a cinema FX technique that has been around for many decades. All you need is a camera, a projector, a beam splitter or even common glass, and a “reflex” movie screen. If that’s not a hoax, then it’s one very limited and impractical method of “invisibility.”
For those of you looking to not be seen, here is a quick, classic guide:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zekiZYSVdeQl
Thank you InterestedOne & Rann!
I appreciate your kind answers and do understand it better now.
Sarge said: “… Otherwise, we would have a pair of disembodied free floating eyes, which in anybodies book, is pretty cool.”
And damned scary too, I would imagine. Disembodied floating eyes… LOL
Tink said: “Here’s a Q. for you rev.felix :
What is invisible and smells like worms?
LOL”
Umm… Invisible worms? Or bird farts.
Megahurts said: “Has anyone else heard of Jasper Maskelyne? He was a stage magician during WWII who worked for the British Army, deployed in the Western Desert. He was apparently able to hide the Suez canal from German bombers using optical illusions.
First post @ DI for me as well.”
Welcome to DI!
Your post reminds me of David Copperfields “disapearance” of the Statue of Liberty.
Not an act with slight of hand, rather than an act of slight of stageing. ;)
And who can forget the great vanishing elephant illusion? I love magic.
rev.felix said: “Umm… Invisible worms? Or bird farts.”
Yep, a silly old joke, forgive me for asking you to take the bait. lol, Huge hugs.
I’m glad the invisibility cloak that the Japanese guy is wearing isn’t a hoax. I’m sure as time goes on, they’ll be able to improve and refine the technology.
It must be a strange sensation punching someone in the stomach when they’re wearing that cloak – thinking that your hand is going to go through them. Definitely an experiment I’ll have to try on my roommates.
Rann said: ” Interestedone needs to remember his security briefings AND his non-disclosure statemates before the men in black come to see him GRIN”
Thanks for the warning Ryan. Although…, I don’t think I said anything that wasn’t available on the Internet – and a lot in the references I listed. Either way, (Phonetically) Spaceeba Comrade, Eta Harasho. GRINbackatcha
I’m selling a collector’s limited-edition figurine of “The Invisible Woman”.
It’s just an empty base.
I think since the invisiblity discribed here is not really transparency but a way to move light completely around an object, if say a man was cloaked head to toe except for his eyeballs, you could see the surface of the eyes from the front but nothing from the back. Further it would just be the surface and not the bulk of the eye ball. It would appear 2 dimentional. I think that this would be very hard to detect and could be easily hid or camoflauged.
As I was walking up the stair,
I met a man who wasn’t there.
He wasn’t there again today,
I wish, I wish, He’d go away
Sarge said: “In describing Well’s character, and his visible food problem, there is an even trickier problem. If his corneas are invisible he would be blind. Otherwise, we would have a pair of disembodied free floating eyes, which in anybody’s book, is pretty cool.”
Not only the corneas, but the entire eyeball, must still be able to interact with light. The corneas still need to refract light, as does the lens; the retinal cells need to be able to absorb light; and the sclera and iris need to be able to block light that is not directed through the lens. Otherwise, the retina (even if somehow able to intercept light) would be flooded with unfocused light, and whatever would not look dazzling would look hopelessly blurry!
AZ196F said: “I think since the invisiblity discribed here is not really transparency but a way to move light completely around an object, if say a man was cloaked head to toe except for his eyeballs, you could see the surface of the eyes from the front but nothing from the back. Further it would just be the surface and not the bulk of the eye ball. It would appear 2 dimentional. I think that this would be very hard to detect and could be easily hid or camoflauged.”
From the back you could still see something–the eyes would block light going in that direction, and you would see dark patches floating in the air. From the front you would indeed see the fronts of the eyes.
Having read many if these comments in the past, I realize there are many intelligent people commenting on this site. I also happened to read many of the comments on this particular article. This made me unafraid to ask the following question: what the hell does “unambergrised” mean?
I’m reading the second chronicles of thomas covenant right now and I came upon this gem. Being drunk (and assuming this question is more relevant than pie) I can’t think of a better place to ask. i know what ambergris is (thank you furutama) but what the hell does this mean?
Also, what about the famous disappearing battleship?
Wow, I’m amased that these stuff is really interesting to the wide population! My diploma thesis was about these metamaterials, and I’ve been working on them for 2 years ( 2005-end of 2006 ), so I know quite a bit about the subject ( “Physics of Wave Propagation in Miniaturized Metamaterial-based Waveguides: Analytical, Numerical and Experimental Investigation” ). Unfortunately, I’ve been working on the properties of the metamaterials for microwave range, so my knowledge is based on experiments in that are, but the principle is pretty much the same for the optical band. The only problem is in the process of production.
What the article doesn’t say is that this “invisibility” has been achieved only for a single frequency ( or a narrow band of frequencies ) – to make the object “invisible” on another frequency (another band ) you have to tweak the properties of the metamaterial (you have to change it’s resonant frequency where the negative mu/epsilon fenomenom occurs). The other problem is the angle for which this fenomenom is observable, since the current problem of metamaterials is the fact they aren’t 3-dimensional ( at least not in the way we need them to be ).
Pale said: “Wow, I’m amased that these stuff is really interesting to the wide population! My diploma thesis was about these metamaterials, and I’ve been working on them for 2 years ( 2005-end of 2006 ), so I know quite a bit about the subject ( “Physics of Wave Propagation in Miniaturized Metamaterial-based Waveguides: Analytical, Numerical and Experimental Investigation” ). Unfortunately, I’ve been working on the properties of the metamaterials for microwave range, so my knowledge is based on experiments in that are, but the principle is pretty much the same for the optical band. The only problem is in the process of production.
What the article doesn’t say is that this “invisibility” has been achieved only for a single frequency ( or a narrow band of frequencies ) – to make the object “invisible” on another frequency (another band ) you have to tweak the properties of the metamaterial (you have to change it’s resonant frequency where the negative mu/epsilon fenomenom occurs). The other problem is the angle for which this fenomenom is observable, since the current problem of metamaterials is the fact they aren’t 3-dimensional ( at least not in the way we need them to be ).”
Damn, I wasn’t reading carefully. The article does say all the problems I mentioned.
Seems like a simpler approach would be to use fiber optics. Simply project the image of what’s behind an object through the fibers ending at the surface of the object –Voila, it’s invisible.
mmckee1915 said: “Seems like a simpler approach would be to use fiber optics. Simply project the image of what’s behind an object through the fibers ending at the surface of the object –Voila, it’s invisible.”
It’s not that easy. First, you would have to have a great density of fibers to project an image that would be recognizable. Even then the wavelenght of the light is smaller than the space between the fibers, so any reflected ray of light would mess up with the invisibility. And even if you managed to make it dense enough, you have to add multiple layers to have it be invisible form all directions, which consequently adds more opportunities for the light to reflect form which makes it non-invisible. And even if you managed to solve all these problems you have to think about the fact that fibers must not be bent, cos if you bend them you add the losses into tranfes which means your light transmitted through bent fiber wouldn’t be as bright as the light transmitted through a straight one.
It’s not as simple as you think.
There are other ways to be “unseen”. Perceptual blindness insures that by failing to pay any attention to that which doesn’t appear to match one’s imagined search image, will be essentially invisible and unseen.
tednugentkicksass said: “Having read many if these comments in the past, I realize there are many intelligent people commenting on this site. I also happened to read many of the comments on this particular article. This made me unafraid to ask the following question: what the hell does “unambergrised” mean?
I’m reading the second chronicles of thomas covenant right now and I came upon this gem. Being drunk (and assuming this question is more relevant than pie) I can’t think of a better place to ask. i know what ambergris is (thank you furutama) but what the hell does this mean?”
am·ber·gris (mbr-grs, -grs) KEY
NOUN:
A waxy grayish substance formed in the intestines of sperm whales and found floating at sea or washed ashore. It is added to perfumes to slow down the rate of evaporation.
One might assume that the properties being discribed are easily evaporated due to the lack of, or the removal of, this substance.
Thank goodness.
Or on second thought, it might be discribing the removal of this substance directly from the whales gut. Humm, nasty job, I would think. Much more difficult than crab fishing.
Are you using this to suggest that invisibility could be attained by evaporation?
After watching ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’ last night, could see where your Q. would be partialy revelant but not exactly feasable to this application. ;)
It is sad that the military have to put their bloody (literally) hands on everything intersting that science creates. Why do they need a cloaking device this time? So they can bomb third world countries with ease? So they can subjugate weak economies by bulling their military might around the world? Do not give me that crap about terrorism, you do not need high tech cloaking camouflage to combat terrorirm and social unrest, what you need is a sincere and bold approach to social inequeality, poverty and ingnorance around the world.
Pale. I hope you didn’t spell Phenomenon “fenomenom” in your thesis.
Too funny!
I can read the head lines now:
“DUKE UNIVERSITY SCIENTISTS CREATE CLOAKING DEVICE“
“DUKE UNIVERSITY SCIENTISTS LOSE CLOAKING DEVICE“
rev.felix said: “What flavor is invisible pie?”
That’s a good question. It’s not quite clear.
They’ve already invented a cloaking device for food. It’s called Cayenne pepper. :)
Floj said: “That’s a good question. It’s not quite clear.”
Ho-yeah.
Metryq said: “The Japanese guy in the raincoat is nothing more than front-projection, a cinema FX technique that has been around for many decades. All you need is a camera, a projector, a beam splitter or even common glass, and a “reflex” movie screen. If that’s not a hoax, then it’s one very limited and impractical method of “invisibility.””
Actually that’s what we call “research and development”, not a hoax. It may not be the most practical or idealized concept of invisibility, but it’s a step in the right direction.
For those interested, here’s the link to the University of Tokyo’s Tachi Laboratories projects page, of which one of them is the aforementioned “Optical Camouflage” seen in the videos listed above:
http://www.star.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/projects/index.php
crispi said: “Pale. I hope you didn’t spell Phenomenon “fenomenom” in your thesis.
Too funny!”
Maybe it would be funny if my thesis was written in english. FYI, yes I did spell it with F in my thesis, because in my language that is correct spelling for that word.
Since I can speak 3 different languages which are not my first languages, and one of those 3 is english, I believe I deserve the right not to be ridiculed for making a small error in spelling.
The day you learn 3 other languages , use them frequently as I do and make no errors while using them, you earn the right to ridicule me for making a spelling error. In the meantime go study something.
With all due respect, I do not think our crispi was trying to insult you, or your lack of intelligence.
We often tease one another here at DI! for simple “grammaticle” mistakes.
It is a running joke amongest the folks who have posted here a while.
Your information was intertaining if not inlighting in the context and grandiosity of your claims.
Please be kind enough to tell us in what language phenomenon is spelt as fenomenom.
This in it’s self would be an interesting educational fact for us all.
Thank you!
ETYMOLOGY:
Late Latin phaenomenon, from Greek phainomenon, from neuter present participle of phainesthai, to appear; see bh- 1 in Indo-European roots
Usage Note:
Phenomenon is the only singular form of this noun; phenomena is the usual plural. Phenomenons may also be used as the plural in nonscientific writing when the meaning is “extraordinary things, occurrences, or persons”: They were phenomenons in the history of music.
Tink said: “With all due respect, I do not think our crispi was trying to insult you, or your lack of intelligence.
We often tease one another here at DI! for simple “grammaticle” mistakes.
It is a running joke amongest the folks who have posted here a while.
Your information was intertaining if not inlighting in the context and grandiosity of your claims.
Please be kind enough to tell us in what language phenomenon is spelt as fenomenom.
This in it’s self would be an interesting educational fact for us all.
Thank you!”
Maybe I overreacted, but I’ve seen too many american/english people insult people for not speaking english as if it was their first language . In light of my previous experience I was under the impression that I was being mocked here and that instantly triggered a defense mechanism. If that wasn’t the case then I apoligize for my reaction.
Now, for the second part… maybe it’s my bad english, but I failed to see what was so “intertaining” and “inglighting” in my claims, and I especially don’t consider that knowledge of more than one language is anything special. At least not where I come from. I am from Croatia ( official language: Croatian:) ) I grew up in Dalmatia which was throughout the history very much influenced by Italy. Besides having a lot of italian words in dalmatian dialect I had the fortune to live in a city where you could watch italian television with just an ordinary TV antenna. My third luck was that my father spent his youth days in Italy and was fluent in italian. That combined resulted in my knowledge of italian language. I don’t consider myself to be fluent in it (actually, my spoken italian is rather awful ), but I get by well enough to watch the TV or read something with around 90% understanding rate.
The second language would be german which was forced down my throat during my high school. I never liked it though, I don’t know why. I haven’t been using it since then, so I suck at it :)
And of course, there’s the english which I also learned throughout my schooling. But english is such a common knowledge these days so there’s nothing really to brag about.
Btw, all Croatians are pretty much fluent in serbian as well ( since it’s a rather similar language, but still different enough to be a different language ). So that would add another language to a total of 4, but due to my crippled knowledge of german and italian I counted those 2 as a one-half knowledge, so the sum is lowered to 3. Like I already said, it’s nothing special… 99% of people I know speak at least serbian and english besides croatian.
And now for the third question. “Phenomenom” ( english ) is spelled “fenomen”, plural: “fenomeni” in croatian ( also in serbian and a few other slavic languages ). It is because in croatian you spell the words in the same way you pronounce them ( except foreign words,names etc… ). Serbian language goes even further, they spell even foreign names the same as you prounounce them, so if your name is George Rogers they would spell it Džordž Rodžers. So that’s why I made the mistake and spelled it “fenomenom”, I knew how you supposed to pronounce it, I even knew how to spell it, but in the haste to write an reply I forgot to think about the proper spelling so I made a stupid mistake. After all, it’s not my first language, I still have to think when I type, and my thinking was primarily focused on metamaterials instead of spelling.
I registered to this site just so I could provide you with some more info on the metamaterial or at least chat about it ), but unfortunately, it seems my spelling disorder is much more interesting :)
p.s. It was never my intention to be boasting around with my language knowledge. I still think it’s rather common where I come from.
Thank you, that is very cool. Now we know you better! What a wonderful experiance to have, in growing up with so many influences, and languages.
I have a great friend from Slavakia who is familiar with Croation as well.
To hear him speak in any language is like hearing music. Thank you again.
I will now make myself invisible, lol.
ballaerina said: “Does anyone think this is a hoax? Invisibility Cloaks
If I were invisible, I’d totally freak out my roommates.”
These video’s are quite obviously fakes ! The guy has been superimposed over the top of the video of moving traffic, using blue screen technology, replacing the colour of the jacket with that of the video. Some subtle video effect are used to colour adjust them a bit.
If the image was being projected from the coat, or reflected from it, it would be distorted due to the curved & rippled fabric. e.g. look at your reflection in a spoon, or a “dent” in a cinema screen.
Thunderchild said: “These video’s are quite obviously fakes ! The guy has been superimposed over the top of the video of moving traffic, using blue screen technology, replacing the colour of the jacket with that of the video. Some subtle video effect are used to colour adjust them a bit.
If the image was being projected from the coat, or reflected from it, it would be distorted due to the curved & rippled fabric. e.g. look at your reflection in a spoon, or a “dent” in a cinema screen.”
It depends… if it is just one display which projects the image from the camera on the backside, then it’s a bit fishy. But if you have the processing unit which processes each pixel and if you have a separate display for each pixel ( or each piece of picture, not necessarily as small as one pixel ), and if processing unit is able to calculate phase,amplitude and frequency offset according to the curvature of the coat , then it might be possible that the video isn’t fake.
Pale said: “It depends… if it is just one display which projects the image from the camera on the backside, then it’s a bit fishy. But if you have the processing unit which processes each pixel and if you have a separate display for each pixel ( or each piece of picture, not necessarily as small as one pixel ), and if processing unit is able to calculate phase,amplitude and frequency offset according to the curvature of the coat , then it might be possible that the video isn’t fake.”
I read about the coats in popular science. It uses special reflective microscopic crystals that reflect light in the same direction that they are hit regardless of the curvature on the coat. It’s been I while scince I really looked in to it, but I think that they were ball shaped crystals. I wish I could find the article I’ll post one up if I can find it.
Pale said: “I especially don’t consider that knowledge of more than one language is anything special.”
It’s special here in America.
If you speak 3 languages you’re tri-ligual, If you speak 2 languages you’re bi-lingual, and if you speak 1 language you’re American.
Floj said: “That’s a good question. It’s not quite clear.”
Just quoting this so it’s not overlooked. This comment is quite obviously the winner.
We have a winner! Floj, you win an invisible pie tin, so everyone can more fully appreciate the beauty of pie!
Tink said: “am·ber·gris (mbr-grs, -grs) KEY
NOUN:
A waxy grayish substance formed in the intestines of sperm whales and found floating at sea or washed ashore. It is added to perfumes to slow down the rate of evaporation.
One might assume that the properties being discribed are easily evaporated due to the lack of, or the removal of, this substance.
Thank goodness.
Or on second thought, it might be discribing the removal of this substance directly from the whales gut. Humm, nasty job, I would think. Much more difficult than crab fishing.
Are you using this to suggest that invisibility could be attained by evaporation?
After watching ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’ last night, could see where your Q. would be partialy revelant but not exactly feasable to this application. ;)”
I’m so sorry about posting a completely unrelated comment that I’m posting another.
Tink, thanks for responding to my somewhat stuporous question; but I already knew WHAT ambergris IS, I was just wondering what an unambergrised grave (and in the second book, unambergrised heart) would be. Perhaps my knowledge of esoteric words isn’t what it should be, but I can usually figure things out just from the context. In this case, I can’t and it is driving me absolutely crazy. I’ve spent a great deal of time thinking about this word the past few days… nothing. Googled to the bounds of my abilities… to no avail. I did find out what roynish means, so I guess thats a bonus.
Perhaps I can get DI to write an article on rarely used, archaic, and esoteric words showing up in fantasy classics (namely those written by Stephan R. Donaldson)? Anyone……?
Guess not.
P.S. The pie question was much more relevant.
rev.felix said: “We have a winner! Floj, you win an invisible pie tin, so everyone can more fully appreciate the beauty of pie!”
Great idea… could we use that as a frisbee?
Dude, if you can’t take a joke, it’s not my fault. Don’t get your shorts in a bunch on my account. Please forgive my sarcastic sense of humor.
For the record…I’ve learned several human and computer languages. (I prefer the computer. Since talking to most people is a complete waste of time.)
I’m also fluent in Spell Check. :)
tednugentkicksass said: “Great idea… could we use that as a frisbee?”
Sure, but if you catch it with your head because you can’t see it, it’s Floj’s fault.
Oh yeah, tednugentkicksass, I would assume, based on the meaning of ambergris, that an unambergrised grave would be a grave minus the whale goop. Which, one would hope, is the norm.
crispi said: “Dude, if you can’t take a joke, it’s not my fault. Don’t get your shorts in a bunch on my account. Please forgive my sarcastic sense of humor.
For the record…I’ve learned several human and computer languages. (I prefer the computer. Since talking to most people is a complete waste of time.)
I’m also fluent in Spell Check. :)”
Oh, I can take a joke. Bring it on! :)
tednugentkicksass said:.
… I was just wondering what an unambergrised grave (and in the second book, unambergrised heart) would be. I can usually figure things out just from the context. In this case, I can’t and it is driving me absolutely crazy. Googled to the bounds of my abilities… to no avail. Perhaps I can get DI to write an article on rarely used, archaic, and esoteric words showing up in fantasy classics (namely those written by Stephan R. Donaldson)? Anyone……?
P.S. The pie question was much more relevant.”
O.K. I thought about this for nigh on 2 hours and thought maybe the words were used to describe a dried up (evaporated) or vacant grave/heart.
Then an increadible inspiration grabbed my semi-conciousness and an invisible voice said to me:” Look up the Author”. Well after that brilliant idea , look here what I found for you dear.
Now go ask the man himself what the heck he meant and then hurry back and tell the rest of us ok? I don’t have time to read through the Q & A’s on the second link, but you might find the answer there.
http://stephenrdonaldson.com/
http://www.stephenrdonaldson.com/fromtheauthor/gi_view.php?Year=2005&Month=11&NewWindow=yes&Filter=&all=&any=&none=
Oh and yes, I agree with all yall that Floj’s comment was the best last night. I grinned right through it and am im-bare-assed not to have mentioned it before now. LOL. Clearly an inexcusable slight to greatness. You go girl! Sweet potatoe pie with a big ole spoon fulla whipped cream and brown sugar grahmcracker crust!
Well, I guess we’re all entitled to a slice of invisible pumpkin pie, served ambergrised or not (according to everybodies preference), and baked in an invisible tin. After the pie– FRISBEE!!! Followed (of course) by the obligatory invisible-pie-tin-in-the-head removal surgery.
P.S. I think (from the context atleast) that unambergrised means something fleeting in nature, something not permanent. I could be wrong (it just doesn’t feel right in the second example I gave above) but I think I can finally get a full night’s sleep.
God, wouldn’t you know it–I take a couple of minutes to write a comment and somebody comes up with a better explaination than I did. Thanks Tink, I’m sure that’s what it meant. It’s good to know somebody else out there was nearly obsessed as myself. My friends all thought I was going crazy, muttering “Unambergrised…..unambergrised…..wtf…unambergrised,” while drunk at my buddy’s 21’st birthday party.
I did just do a quick run over that second link, nothing was asked about his use of language other than if he had personal favorite lines. I guess (like me) people don’t want their only contact with a spectacular writer to be a stupid question.
ambergris (ām’bər-grĭs’, -grēs’) Pronunciation Key
A yellow, gray, or black waxy material formed in the intestines of sperm whales that consists of a mixture of steroid derivatives. It is often found floating at sea or washed ashore, has a pleasant odor, and is added to perfumes as a fixative to slow down the rate of evaporation.
hmmm..does anyone else find it hard to believe that waxy whale goo would have a pleasant odour?
if i was invisible, i hide in the girls change rooms ;-D
A cloaked bullet or unguided ballistic missile wouldn’t need to see the outside world.
A 3D cloak could have a “porthole” to look outside, just be careful which way you have it pointed.
Dr. Evil said: “hmmm..does anyone else find it hard to believe that waxy whale goo would have a pleasant odour?”
It all depends on your point of view. To a dung beetle the fresh, steaming pile of Elephant Poop must be a banquet to die for.
As for invisibility cloak, are there any divers out there that have the good fortune to witness the octopus’s ability to “blend in”? Some cephalous are excellent adapters to the point where they virtually disappear. Like the Octopus vulgaris, which can change the color of its skin in minuite detail, using chromatophores. Each chromatophore is filled with a single pigment of color. By increasing the size of the organ, the creature can “create” a picture, basically like your computer monitor. Each chromatohpore is like a pixel in your monitor. These organs are so small that the animal can look like the multicolored, pebbley bottom of your average home aquarium. Add to that the animals ability to raise bumps on its skin, adding texture to the illusion. The octopus can also change these quite quickly adding motion to the illusion.
I watched while an octopus moved across the coral head. The animal mimicked the coral to a point, where if I had not known it was there, I probably would not have seen it. An interesting thing here is where it slowly moved over a chunk of rusted iron, a decent picture of the bar appeared on the animal. As the octopus slowly moved over the bar, the picture moved across the skin. Basically it seemed as if the bar flowed up and over the animal. A very “neat” trick if I say so myself. You could say the creature was in “stealth mode”, hiding from predators as it moved across open ground to a more secure, secluded area.
hmmm..does anyone else find it hard to believe that waxy whale goo would have a pleasant odour?”
Along with ambergris, there’s also:
Castoreum (a beaver secretion)
Musk (a male deer secretion)
Civet (secretion from a civet cat)
Next time my boyfriend kisses my neck while I’m wearing perfume, I’m going to laugh.
Wait.
Do they put it in men’s cologne too?
ballaerina said: “Wait.
Do they put it in men’s cologne too?”
From what I understand about perfume and colognes, fragrances for men contain mostly musk and plant extracts. An interesting detail is that while most women can detect even the faintest hint of musk, most men cannot detect even a liberal dose of the stuff.
Also have you ever wondered the difference between Perfume and say Eau de Toilette? The price is due to natural essential oils. Since most flowers, herbs, and plants used are harvested by hand and it takes tons of plant material to produce just one pound of essential oil. So the percentage used determines the price.
This is a percentage chart used by the industry.
Perfume – 15-30%
Eau de Parfum – 8-15%
Eau de Toilette – 4-8%
Eau de Cologne – 2-5%
Splash Cologne – 1-3%
Here is a site with a breakdown on perfumes. http://www.perfumes.com/eng/materials.htm
Oops, I thought this but did not write it.
I am not sure if they use Ambergris though they do Castoreum and Civet.
Dr. Evil said: “if i was invisible, i hide in the girls change rooms ;-D”
Shame on you, Dr. What you do is hide a cloaked camera in the girls’ room so you can save the tapes and enjoy them whenever you want.
Would a camera not be blinded under an invisible cloak?
Not if you leave the lens uncovered.
If I hide under the bed, in most cases I’m invisible to people who enter the room. And it’s much cheaper than high-tech cloaks too!
Radiatidon said: “It all depends on your point of view. .
As for invisibility cloak,… Some cephalous are excellent adapters to the point where they virtually disappear. Like the Octopus vulgaris, which can change the color of its skin in minuite detail, using chromatophores. …I watched while an octopus moved across the coral head. …An interesting thing here is where it slowly moved over a chunk of rusted iron, a decent picture of the bar appeared on the animal. As the octopus slowly moved over the bar, the picture moved across the skin. Basically it seemed as if the bar flowed up and over the animal… You could say the creature was in “stealth mode”, hiding from predators as it moved across open ground to a more secure, secluded area.”
How cool is that!? I have seen these on Discovery, and yeah octopi are amazing beasts. Wonder if the scientist’ folks have examined this and attempted a photonic equivalant? Of course we already have camoflage (sp?) clothing and paint.
Humm… lets see, we could grind up the octopi, mix ’em with some eggs,spices and milk; then what we did not use for paint could be poured into a crust and baked, then we would have octopi pie.
Hince invisible pie!
(Oh hell, sometimes I think I’m a real wit, but my friends remind me that I’m only half right in that assumtion. Ha!)
tednugentkicksass said: “A waxy grayish substance formed in the intestines of sperm whales and found floating at sea or washed ashore. It is added to perfumes to slow down the rate of evaporation.
Tink, thanks for responding to my somewhat stuporous question; but I already knew WHAT ambergris IS, I was just wondering what an unambergrised grave (and in the second book, unambergrised heart) would be. Perhaps my knowledge of esoteric words isn’t what it should be, but I can usually figure things out just from the context. In this case, I can’t and it is driving me absolutely crazy. I’ve spent a great deal of time thinking about this word the past few days… nothing. Googled to the bounds of my abilities… to no avail. I did find out what roynish means, so I guess thats a bonus.
Not that it will help explain the use of ambergris by the author, but try this site — Stephen R. Donaldson Ate My Dictionary — Meeting the Big, Scary Words of Stephen R. Donaldson’s Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
http://www.gdiproductions.net/srdamd/
It just might help with some other word usage by that author.
Radiatidon said: “Not that it will help explain the use of ambergris by the author, but try this site — Stephen R. Donaldson Ate My Dictionary — Meeting the Big, Scary Words of Stephen R. Donaldson’s Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
http://www.gdiproductions.net/srdamd/
It just might help with some other word usage by that author.”
Double cool link dude!!!
While it’s true that people or cameras hidden inside such a cloak wouldn’t be able to see out, that could easily be solved by having a view port of some kind. Even though the view port would be visible when open, if you’ve got the bulk of what you’re trying to hide behind the cloak it’d be an easy matter to camouflage the view port.
The same sort of thing is done all the time with standard camouflage. I’ve had people walk within two feet of me when in full camo, yet I had full view of them ; add an invisibility cloak to the mix & my job just got a lot easier.
Or maybe I’m using such a cloak right now, and am watching over your shoulder. BOO!
Radiatidon said: “Not that it will help explain the use of ambergris by the author, but try this site — Stephen R. Donaldson Ate My Dictionary — Meeting the Big, Scary Words of Stephen R. Donaldson’s Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
http://www.gdiproductions.net/srdamd/
It just might help with some other word usage by that author.”
Thanks radiatidon, that really is a sweet link. In fact, it’s the site that drew me nigh on to apoplexy. I found it in my initial searches and it told me everything but what I wanted to know– how else would I have found out what “roynish” meant? I thought S.R.D. just created that word.
I’m glad so many of you guys (and gals) took pity on my young soul, actually spending time trying to find out the meaning of this word. Who knew there were so many scent-experts out there. I think I’m going to start my own dictionary of words including prefixes.
Number one on my list: “unambergrised: that which is bereft of it’s quintessential essence”
It has a sort of poetic flair to it, don’t you think?
And Cynthia? I’m not sure if you read all the comments about your articles, but if you do please accept my most sincere apologies for high-jacking a discussion on cloaking devices.
Or maybe I’m using such a cloak right now, and am watching over your shoulder. BOO!”
I can hear you.
Your welcome Tink & tednugentkicksass, glad to have been of service. Sorry for the delay in responding, but a friend had his site hacked, and the password and such were changed. I have been busy performing some Internet detective work for him. Solved it and all is well again.
I know it’s a mute point by now, but I accidentally wrote brook, instead of wood, I’m terribly sorry for my mixup. Needless to say, I’m not very good with names.
I know it’s a moot point, but it’s “moot”, not “mute”.
Good article, Cindy!
No worries, Misfit. I’m pretty horrible with names myself. I would never have believed before I was married that people would misspell or otherwise mangle “Wood” nearly as often as they did my (longer and much more complicated) maiden name – but they do. Now I think it’s simply a matter of whether they’re paying attention or not. Those who are get even the difficult names right. Those who aren’t can read Smith and write Jones – like me, who once called my dance partner of six weeks “Mike”. His name was John.
Actually, the military is creating something that basically takes a photo or video of what is behind you, and projects it on millions of tiny screens.
it is already in research with planes
(possibly deployed, but we may never know :)
also with clothing for army soldiers etc…
and as to planes, yes, there are still dogfights,
where 2 planes go after each other without using radar,
and only using line of sight.
The military IS spending money on researching this as we speak.
thats where those tax $ are going.
On september 10 2001, Donald Rumsfeld announced that his department LOST 2.3 trillion dollars.
http://911review.org/Sept11Wiki/Mckinney,Cynthia.shtml
http://911review.org/Wiki/InstantImperialDemocracy.shtml
http://batcave911.blogspot.com/
Sheesh, wait a few days and you can’t even comment on the article, because the conversation’s turned to etymology and ambergris.
No, the cloak’s not a hoax. Chroma-key would look better, and the raincoat cloak only works if you are squinting through a semi-reflective mirror and you don’t move your head too much. It’s pretty kludgy.
http://www.howstuffworks.com/invisibility-cloak.htm
Floj said: “YES!!! I’ve been reading about these materials alot! It’ so cool! I read that these materials use nano sized LC circuits that are capable of transmiting light.
It’s neat cause at the designated wavelength the permiability and permitivity are negative when passing through a metamaterial as oppose to transparent materials where both values are positive. Ususally, opage materials have one of the two values being negative. So the index of refraction that is given by the square root of the two values does not exist. Therefore that wavelength does not pass through. The negative values in metamaterials allow them to transmit light cause the square root can be evaluated! (I need to do more reading on this one) Ahh! That’s awesome! It’s like mega pi….
d
I agree, it is really exciting! The theory’s been around for only a few years, and it’s literally rewriting the textbooks– a negative refractive index wasn’t considered possible before.
However, I don’t get what you are saying about evaluating the square root. Imaginary numbers pop up thick as weeds in theoretical optics, and it all has a physical interpretation. So if one of the two values is negative, then the square root is imaginary…. Oh, I get it. Then the wave fails to propagate and instead decays exponentially into the material.
But saying that it “can’t be evaluated” is odd, when permeability and permittivity would have to both be complex to give a negative square root ( (sqrt(2)/2+i*sqrt(2)/2) is one of the roots.)
Yeah, I heard about this before. But only a tidbit that they can make things invisible by somehow bending light around it. Now I see what Bob meant.
Hi, this is my first post on DI, allthough I enjoyed reading the articles and comments for awhile. Please excuse my bad english, its not my first language ;).
I had an idea for a cloaking cloth composed of millions of semi-spherical devices the size of the period at the end of this sentence. Each possible radii path of these semi spheres would hold a pair of fiber optic filaments that would each have attached at their inner end a transmitter and a receiver transmitting a low amplitude carrier wave signal of the light information received by the fiber optic in a directional manner , so that any other semi-sphere having a fiber optic on one of its radiuses with a receiver that is inline with the original light transmission would then transmit the light via its own fiber optic radius, making what is between “transparent” . This would cover the 360 degree field of view problem, although a varying degree of halo would surround the object depending on the size of the semi spheres.
From my understanding your idea would work for the most part in an open area but with something behind you would be distorted. Thats just my view i dont completely grasp the concept of this, unless its in a completely open area i dont see how an invisibility cloak would work period, or as the article said if you remain completely still.
It’s a good idea to make something/body invisible, but not the onle way. Because it needs huge instruments to make e.g. an airplane invisible. I have another idea: Isn’t it better to make a coat or cover to wear an object we want to hide it, then that cover shows behind of the object to who is seeing it from opposite? It’s possible and so easier than this method. What’s your idea?
so what happens when they perfect this technology, and we all start wearing invisible cloaks?
imagine walking on deserted roads, trying not to bump into someone…
It turns out Pale does have a sense of humour. An excellent one at that.
It seems the site has since been updated. It does now contain a definition of “unambergrised” as intended by the author:
^^^
Tink, I don’t know if you’re still floating about the site but thank you for getting the answer straight from the horses mouth. Not only did you get my question answered, but my interweb alias is now involved in the #1 result on google for the query on “unambergrised” …. pretty freaking sweet.
On a side note, isn’t Stephen R. Donaldson cool? I mean seriously, what a badass.
I’m not sure how many of you have actually read H. G. Wells’s book, but it actually contains some halfway decent science regarding invisibility, admittedly sacrificing science once in a while for dramatic effect. The man explains that anything pure white is in fact colorless, but reflects or refracts light differently than air. In the story, he discovers a way to realign the molecules of any colorless substance to change said substance’s reflective and refractive properties to match air, thereby making it invisible. A human being is not colorless, but the invisible man happened to have been an albino before he turned himself invisible, so the only pigment in his body was the hemoglobin in his blood. Being the brilliant fictional scientist that he was, he also found a way to modify his own hemoglobin to make it colorless. His eyes, as Sarge pointed out would be necessary, remained slightly but not noticeably visible, allowing him to see. When he ate, food remained visible in his innards only until it was completely digested, the body breaking down the visible molecules and assimilating them into its own invisible state.
The real flaws in Wells’s depiction of the Invisible Man are less nit-picky and more cringe-worthy. When he bleeds, his blood becomes visible. When he dies, his whole body becomes visible. There is no scientific reason whatsoever for this. It is purely for dramatic effect. Despicable.