For as long as story tellers have existed there has been a magical invisibility device in stories that would make the person wearing it disappear. In ancient Greek mythology goddess Athena wore an invisibility cap during the Trojan War.  In another classic by J.R.R. Tolkein, Bilbo Baggins found a ring that could make him invisible. This he passed on to his nephew Frodo.

In more recent memory Harry Potter was presented with his father’s invisibility cloak. He put it to good use spying on enemies, getting into places unseen and avoiding spells of people out to harm him. The thing is that the so called invisibility device may no longer be a figment of an author’s imagination.

Thanks to science projects in nano technology there are now experiments with materials that can actually make you invisible. Of course what it really uses is special reflecting surfaces to shield the objects placed inside the cloaking device from light. The first working prototype however is nothing like Harry Potter’s cloak. It is rather like a small CD which hides whatever object is placed in the centre.

It may be early days yet for the invisibility device, but now that science is catching up with science fiction you can rest assured that some momentous day in the not so distant future you will be able to make yourself invisible. In the meanwhile why not try out this different science fair project.