Time Cloak Can Make 'Events' Simply Vanish!

By - 398 words

Language

Reading Level

Listen to Article

Got caught taking that last cookie from the jar or glancing at a neighbor's paper during a mid-term? How often have you wished you could simply make that moment vanish? Believe it or not, scientists have now figured out a way to make that wish a reality.

The Time Cloak which was spearheaded by Moti Fridman, a researcher at New York's Cornell University, uses the same principal as that applied when trying to conceal an object - Light wave manipulation. While concealing an object involves bending the light, concealing time, involves changing the speed of light.

To demonstrate the 'disappearance' the team conducted an experiment inside a fiber optic cable, fitted with two special lenses. They began by passing a beam of green light through it. When it hit the first lens, the light split into two speeds - One a little slower than the other. While that was going on, they quickly beamed a red laser through the cable. However, since it occurred precisely at the moment the light split, it was 'invisible' to the audience, making it seem as though the 'event' had never happened.

Further down, another lens helped put the light beam back together so that when it emerged on the other side of the cable, it appeared as though nothing had happened.

According to the scientists the closest analogy to this is what happens when a movie is edited. The director cuts out frames that he doesn't think are relevant and then, splices the rest of the movie back together, like the scene(s) never happened.

The best part is, that since 'Invisibility cloaks' work by bending light, scientists see no reason why the two could not be used simultaneously - That is, an 'invisible' person could perform an 'invisible' action, and nobody would know any better.

However, before you get your hopes up, be warned that the demonstration that hid the beam of red light lasted for all of 40 trillionths of a second or 40 Pico seconds - not enough time to even bat an eyelid. But while scientists may never be able to stretch the time far enough for you to finish a cookie, they may be able to extend it enough to hide transmission of top-secret data, something that would be quite valuable to government officials. We just hope that some day they are able to do more than that - don't you?

Resources: gizmondo.com, msnbc.com

Cite Article
Geography
Learn Keywords in this Article
464 Comments
  • bday_summergirl
    bday_summergirlover 3 years
    So cool!
    • Supergirlygameralmost 7 years
      awsome sauce!
      • pupsrule11
        pupsrule11almost 9 years
        WOW!!!!!!!!!!!
        • billcipher
          billcipherabout 9 years
          I would love to own such a thing but their examples all seem like a scam or a project under development. They only show computerized examples and no real life evidence. If they said this plan was under development I would understand, but they explain like they have it all figured it out. If such a thing like this was invented It would be nice to own, but there will be a lot of negativity about like the ability to stop time and rob a bank. There is also I positive side like the ability to pause time and prevent crimes like murder or robbery.
          • tela
            telaabout 9 years
            THAT IS COOL!!!!
            • pabu4
              pabu4about 9 years
              Well, it's not actully slowing down time. It's just shielding it from our eyes, making it seem like nothing happened. Kind of like an invisiblity cloak. And they just used lights, not actul skin, or flesh. It seems real, and amazing, but a bit like a scam.
              • billcipher
                billcipherabout 9 years
                I definitely agree, They only show diagrams and computerized examples, but no actual real life testing. If they said this was under construction and not fully worked out I could understand but they explain like they have it all worked out and never mention their progress on this theory. So it does seem like a scam or plan under development.
                • tela
                  telaabout 9 years
                  I thought the same thought
                • ???????about 9 years
                  Robbing? Oh oh
                  • joshue
                    joshueover 9 years
                    I wish I had one
                    • schoolrocksover 9 years
                      I wish i could buy this
                      • cakecat
                        cakecatover 9 years
                        uggghh i wish i could watch the video but the computer woont let me ;(