Now This Is Cool

Call it "Harry Potter and the Professors of Invisibility."

Fans of J.K. Rowling will recall that everyone's favorite boy magician can vanish at will. Potter just ducks under his magic cloak and swoosh . . . he is gone.

Last week a prestigious journal published two reports from scientists who have discovered how to achieve the same effect without breaking the laws of physics. Invisibility, they argue, is a matter of diverting light around an object so all the light continues on its way instead of reflecting off the object. The reports suggest using a thick shell of high-tech transparent material to do this. Even when looking directly at the object, an observer would see only what was behind it.

While Harry Potter's cloak relies on supplies found only in magic marketplaces like Diagon Alley -- the pelt of a "Demiguise" is apparently crucial -- the scientists' cloaking device would use newly developed materials that can bend light in unexpected ways. Scientists not involved in the work said the plans appear feasible but that they would require more-advanced substances than currently exist. Still, scientists said that the work represents an important theoretical advance likely to inspire new ideas in the booming field of materials science.

"It is a fascinating concept," said Steven G. Johnson, an assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in an e-mail. "But I suspect that you're unlikely to find it for sale anytime soon (except on Daigon Alley)."