A real 'invisibility cloak' has been invented by Chinese scientists
It looks like something straight out of Harry Potter.
If you’ve ever wanted to eavesdrop on a particularly juicy conversation, you'll be interested in this new advancement.
A researcher from China has invented a real-life invisibility cloak which seamlessly obscures any person or object placed behind it - so you can now live out all your Harry Potter dreams.
The creator behind the astonishing material is Chu Junhao, who gave a jaw-dropping demonstration of his work at a virtual convention called Super Science Night.
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Standing on a stage, Chu was flanked by two men who held a square piece of the 'magic' material in front of his legs.
While at first you can see the black color of his trousers through the sheet, his assistants then turn the material 90 degrees until the background completely disappears and a legless Chu is all that is left.
Footage was later shared online of the invisible material in use, showing brightly colored objects which are completely obscured from view underneath it.
Another clip showed a man draping himself in a cloak of the invisible fabric, before becoming completely unseen from the background behind him - just like in the movies.
Chu's innovation is said to work by using cutting-edge materials that manipulate light in a way that achieves optical invisibility… although some people thought it was a complete hoax after the video was circulated online.
“This is not invisibility. It’s hiding. You can still see it. Can’t walk unseen in the bank with that,” one person wrote on X, formerly Twitter, clearly not amused.
However others were left stunned at the calibre of the product, with one person saying: “Man technology is just amazing, things from sci-fi are actually coming to life, just hope these things will be put to good use.”
Others linked the cloak to the famous franchise, with someone saying Harry Potter was “way ahead of his time with this one”.
While you might not be able to purchase a real cloak of invisibility anytime soon - we can’t see it hitting Target this month - it just shows the power of technology and innovation in 2023.
Who knows what next year might bring?