Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak: Mirage Effect Created in Lab

[The Northerner]

It's hard to write about the experiment done at the University of Texas at Dallas without invoking Harry Potter and his invisibility cloak — but after you look at the video above, you'll probably agree it's 1) mesmerizing and 2) more realistic than the movie.

It's not a special effect. It's an experiment in photothermal deflection ("the mirage effect" to physicists), and it was done with nanotechnology.

If you're not into nanotechnology, read on anyhow. This isn't that complicated, at least in concept.

You know how, if you're driving down a highway in Florida or Arizona on a sunny summer day, the road far ahead can look wet as it shimmers in the heat? That mirage is created by photothermal deflection — the heat is bending the light rays, creating the impression that there's a puddle up ahead.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/harry-potter-invisibility-cloak-effect-created-real-texas/story?id=14674417