Time Cloak Can Make 'Events' Simply Vanish!

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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

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464 Comments
  • petluver2000over 13 years
    soooooo cool!!!!!!! that is my new homework current event article
  • cool over 13 years
    omg i thought it wasnt possible ,but it IS
    • veronica over 13 years
      omg! i want 2 use that! cuz i have a lot of stuff i want 2 erase
      • vbuddy105
        vbuddy105over 13 years
        omg rlly!! me tooo! and its funny bc my name is Veronica tooo!!!! :) lol
      • jloover 13 years
        hey guys taking a brake from idol and love the time cloak
        • bellaover 13 years
          cool but i still dont get how it works:(
          • lolipop9999
            lolipop9999over 13 years
            I need to get one because I am Harry Potter's number 1 fan.
          • alexiaover 13 years
            this was really great. but when i read the tittle it sounded strange but when i read on it sounded relly wonderful.but i think they should put pictures WITH proof or they migt be lieying
            • alexiaover 13 years
              this is so cool. but do not get it
              • 3698over 13 years
                why not reverse the lenses so that they push in, not out. That would create a huge hole.
                • petluvr2001
                  petluvr2001over 13 years
                  this would be the perfect gift and i seriously need this im soooooo clumsy!