A lively exploration of how invisibility has gone from science fiction
to fact
Is it possible for something or someone to be made invisible? This
question, which has intrigued authors of science fiction for over a
century, has become a headline-grabbing topic of scientific research.
In this book, science writer and optical physicist Gregory J. Gbur
traces the science of invisibility from its sci-fi origins in the
nineteenth-century writings of authors such as H. G. Wells and Fitz
James O'Brien to modern stealth technology, invisibility cloaks, and
metamaterials. He explores the history of invisibility and its science
and technology connections, including the discovery of the
electromagnetic spectrum, the development of the atomic model, and
quantum theory. He shows how invisibility has moved from fiction to
reality, and he questions the hidden paths that lie ahead for
researchers.
This is not only the story of invisibility but also the story of
humankind's understanding of the nature of light itself, and of the many
fascinating figures whose discoveries advanced this knowledge.