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Ever since science fiction was popular, there has been the idea of an Invisibility Cloak. When I was a kid, my dad used to... Make Your Own Cloaking Device For Only $49

Ever since science fiction was popular, there has been the idea of an Invisibility Cloak. When I was a kid, my dad used to joke that he must have been cloaked when another driver cut him up on the road! Well, maybe one day we will be able to cloak large objects, such as our cars. But until that time we will just have to make do with the ‘cloaking device’ created by scientist at Rochester University. The device is actually a series of four lenses, which keep objects hidden from multiple angles.

I must admit, it is a really cool use of light.

In September of 2014, researchers at the University of Rochester announced that they had created a 3D-transmitting continuously multidirectional cloaking device. Now one of the graduate students who assisted in creating it has said you can make one in your own home for about the cost of a few Blu-Ray movies.

Joe Choi, a Ph.D student who worked on the project, told MTV News, “It’s very simple… it’s a little more than just putting a few magnifying glasses together…We were surprised that people thought this was really cool and we were just waiting for the patent application to come out.”

The inventors of the device were waiting for their paper to be published in the journal Optics Express. This finally occurred back in late November. Choi said the coolest twist on the research is that now you are able to order your own complete “Rochester Cloak” device for just $49.

Choi said, “We’ve gotten calls from France, Australia, all over the world from people who want to build them on their own and it’s good because elementary school and high school kids are doing it for science fair projects and as a hobby…It’s getting kids interested in science and optics in particular.”

Choi said that the team is working on a few new patents for devices with larger lenses, which could cloak a bigger area and ones using plastics that would make them cheaper than the current cost.

[Image via Rochester Uni]

SOURCE: http://www.mtv.com/news/2043930/invisibility-cloak-50-dollars-rochester/