The ability is see is fundamental to our very existence. How true our perceptions really are depends upon many factors, and not least is our understanding of what light is and how it interacts with matter. It was said that the camera, the icon of light recording instruments, never lies, and in the day of the glass plate and celluloid roll-film this might well have been true. But in this modern era, with electronic cameras and computer software, it is often safe to assume that the camera always lies. The advertising images that bombard our every waking moment are manipulated in shape, profile, color, and form. In this new era, light can be manipulated with metamaterials to make one object look like another or even cause that objects to vanish, literally before our eyes; not only can the image we see be manipulated, but so can the light itself.
Arthur C. Clarke famously wrote that, "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." These words most certainly ring true with respect to invisibility cloaking devices. At work is the magic of science, of course. The technology to make an object simply disappear from view is now a reality.There is both great fear and great desire in the thought of invisibility. Indeed, for thousands of years, authors have grappled with the idea. Power, devilry, secrecy, ethical dilemma, and moral corruption - invisibility has it all. And yet, our waking world is full of familiar invisible phenomena. Electricity flowing along a metal wire, the gravity that keeps us grounded, the air we breathe, the bacteria and viruses that make us ill, the X-rays that reveal our broken bones - all are invisible to our eyes. They surround and envelop us, and we don't give them a second thought. Nature long ago learned how to play tricks with light rays, enriching the world with rainbows, mirages, and animal camouflage. The new physics of invisibility simply aims to take these tricks of nature a few steps further. Indeed, by learning what light is and how it interacts with matter, physicists have begun to take control of light - with metamaterials, which, manmade, can be precisely melded, warped, twisted, transformed, and even time-edited.In this book the ancient and modern story of light and invisibility is revealed, from early Greek speculations to the remarkable works of James Clerk Maxwell. The new and burgeoning field of transformation optics is also explored, and the story behind the development of the first fully functional invisibility cloak is charted. What will they be used for and how will they change things? Find out here.
From the reviews:
"Beech ? eases readers into the topic after explaining the well-known behavior of light and giving examples of tricks of optics from magic, art, and nature. ? This book is packed with fascinating examples of current work and possibilities for the future. Drawings and photographs help illustrate the physics. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals; general readers." (M. Dickinson, Choice, Vol. 49 (10), June, 2012)
