A new chapter

Water behaves differently. When water in a stream flows near a smooth rock, it contracts on both sides. A person looking at the stream would never guess that it had overcome the obstacle.

A metamaterial cloak causes microwaves to flow around an object in the same way that water flows around a rock. "This metamaterial has opened a new chapter in electromagnetism. We've opened the door to a secret garden," study co-author Professor John Pedry of Imperial College London told the BBC. In the experiment, the scientists first measured microwaves flowing through a space free of obstructions. Then they placed a copper disc in the same space and measured the interference, or scattering, of the microwaves. The researchers then placed an invisibility cloak over the disc. While it didn't eliminate all interference, it significantly reduced the number of blocked or deflected microwaves.