Harry Potter's Invisible Gateway Is No More Unreal!

Friday, March 5, 2010, 11:59

When Harry Potter was first asked to board the Hogwarts train at Platform 9 3/4 from Kings Cross Railway Station, he had expected it to be a joke. However the platform turned out not to be a joke and was guarded by an invisible gate. Now, you can also experience the entry through an invisible gate!

The research team from Hong Kong University and Fudan University in Shanghai has made the invisible gateways a step closer to reality. With the help of a technique known as transformation optics, they have found a way to alter the pathway of light waves that could eventually allow them to develop portals that are invisible to the human eye. The gateway will block the electromagnetic waves allows the passage of other entities.

Pushing the laws of refraction and reflection to the limit, the gateway uses transformation optics and a 'superscatterer" made from photonic crystals to create an 'optical illusion', forcing light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation into complicated directions to hide the portal.

Previous efforts at an electromagnetic gateway were hindered by their narrow bandwidth, only capturing a small range of visible light or other forms of electromagnetic radiation. The advance also has the added advantage of being able to be switched on and off remotely.

People outside the gateway can only see a mirror to look into! However, the team admitted that despite being theoretically possible, many practical issues have to be overcome.