Cloaking Technology: How Close Are We to Making Something Invisible?

[MudflapNichols]

I was going to say if I could be invisible, I would hang out with a bunch of animals in nature to see what they do when there are no humans around. Then I realized they would probably smell me, kill me, and eat me, then tell all their friends about that weird invisible meal they had that one time.

[dennisnewman]

If I'm invisible, I'm going to Simon's house and gonna see if i can make him think twice about the whole ghosts aren't real thing. 😂😂😂

[terryenby]

If I could turn invisible I would probably relax somewhere public without people looking at me. That sounds kind of silly, but anxiety is a weird thing!

[ArneBab]

“What would you do if you could turn invisible?” — I would stand in the front row of a theater without disturbing anyone behind me.

[AllTheHappySquirrels]

"I can't help making fun of the Metaverse." This is why Simon is a legend.

[therealkevan]

earlier this year I was on a ranch under one of the MOAs for Randolph AFB and we kept hearing a jet flying above us but we were only able to catch brief glimpses of it at certain angles like during a turn when it looked like it was painted sky blue. We could hear it and even see vapor trails coming off the wings we just couldn't see it for more than a second at a time.

[PassiveSmoking]

The Mass Effect series has an interesting take on stealth and cloaking. They basically acknowledge that at least for space-ships it would be utterly pointless because space is BIG and ships are tiny in comparison, to the odds of spotting one by looking out the window are so astronomical that it's basically considered an insane level of bad luck if it actually happened.

Instead, cloaking in Mass Effect is all about hiding any emissions that would give your position away, including heat emissions. Stealth-ships have heat-sinks that all the ship's generated heat is dumped into temporarily until the ship can get to a safe place and dump its heat (which is done by ejecting molten sodium out of the front, letting it radiate its heat into space, and re-capturing it at the rear of the ship). Ships can only go stealthy for so long before they must dump their heat, otherwise the crew gets barbecued alive.

Of course none of this hides the ship from active scans (radar, lidar, etc), but as such scans are emissions, you risk giving your own position away by using it to look for the ship you're hunting.

[bananaman-wexs]

I have always been invisible, even my parents never noticed me.

[MrNorker]

If I could turn myself invisible? I'd be in every one of Simon's videos and noone would ever know.

[deviricx]

If I could turn invisible I would walk around the local grocery saying “my precious” and other things Gollum would say while nearby any people.

[Hillbilly]

I'll be a dirty name! This is one of the first episodes of Science I actually agree with. Allegedly. Considering the plane has only been around for 112 years or so, Hell, I watched Apollo 11 on TV when I was 9. In 250 years who knows what humans will come up with. That's if the Time Aliens don't show up. LoL. Excellent video. Outstanding script! Simon, you're the Man. Cheers.

[Ralphster]

Surely the biggest, civilian and legal application for invisibility would be for filming. Imagine being able to have the cameraman getting the second angle anywhere in the shot or not having to worry about spotting the set crew in the background.

[theilige]

id use it to have moments of peace where nobody will/can interrupt

[badgerwijohnson]

Cloaking infrared and radio waves would be very useful on the battlefield.

[rodneymeadows]

Simon, you are a British badass! I love every channel you're on! I hope you're making bank!

[RHCole]

One of my new favorite channels, factboi. Keep it up.

[SeptemberMeadows]

If I could be invisible I'd simply go about my business and daily life without being harassed or threatened. It would be so liberating.

[ArneBab]

Thank you for your video! That’s super-exciting — and I like the car-part a lot, because it shows how such devices would actually be used in science-fiction worlds.

[nickjohnson]

Video idea: Is Hard Light Energy Possible?

[ignitionfrn]

0:55 - Chapter 1 - The rochester cloak
2:05 - Chapter 2 - Invisibility shields
3:35 - Chapter 3 - Optical camouflage
5:45 - Chapter 4 - Metamaterial cloaking
8:55 - Wrap up
PS: Still hoping for a cloning episode !