Gizmodo: invisible

How to Make Your Car Invisible on the Cheap

Adam Frucci — Mon, 04 May 2009 10:50:00 EDT

Want to make your car invisible? It's an expensive and possibly impossible task, unless you want to get creative with it.

Design student Sara Watson turned her old beater of a car invisible in a mere three weeks, and it didn't even cost her that much. Of course, she can't drive it now, and it's only invisible from a certain angle, but still.

The whole thing was done with paint, creating a seriously impressive illusion. The car is now being used as advertising for the local recycling firm that donated the Skoda Fabia to Watson for the project.

Next step: invisible cars you can drive. Shouldn't be too hard, right guys? [BBC via Jalopnik]

Japanese Men Perfect the Cloak of Invisibility Much to Japanese Women's Dismay

Jason Chen — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT

Japan's been tooling around with versions of invisibility cloaks for years now, but they seem to have finally perfected it. Theoretically. By using "left-handed metamaterials" to make electromagnetic control devices, researchers can generate lenses that either reflect no light or have a perfect focal point—the end result of which lets you create a perfect invisibility cloak to skulk around Tokyo with. If you're really interested in the physics of the situation, you can head over to Nikkeibp, but we're pretty sure the illustration above will explain the matter just fine. [Nikkeibp]

Kids Invent Vanishing Nail Polish to Dodge School Rules

Kit Eaton — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 12:15:03 EDT

What would you do if your school's ban on makeup meant you couldn't show off your nail art? You'd get your chemistry set out and invent a new UV-reactive polish that was near-invisible indoors, but was bright and colorful when you're outside lessons, wouldn't you? Well, you would if you were a group of students in Salford in the UK. Designed in collaboration with the local University, the product is scheduled for release soon in 32 colors inspired by local brickwork. Neat hey? No word on whether the school actually allowed them to get away with wearing it, though. [Daily Mail]

British Navy Working on Developing Invisible Ships Using Metamaterials

Sean Fallon — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 20:00:19 EST

Scientists at the Britannia Royal Navy College are working hard to make the idea of an invisible ship a reality using metamaterials that refract light in such a way that it "bends" around an object, making it appear as if it were invisible. This would only account for viewing with the naked eye however—naturally radar cloaking would be an important part of the equation. However, it appears that this technology may be able to accomplish a lot more.

Chris Lavers, a senior lecturer in remote sensing and sensors technology at the college believes that nanomaterials could help render the next generation of ships invisible to the naked eye, radar, and even heat seeking missiles—all while being completely quiet and impossible to detect based on their impact on the Earth's magnetic field. This isn't the first time we have heard about invisibility cloaking using similar methods, so here's hoping that something actually comes of it in the near future. [Physics World via Gizmag]

Invisible Book Shelf Gets Cheaper

Jason Chen — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:55:57 EST

We wrote about this a long, long time ago, but the invisible bookshelf that magically props up your reading material is now available from ThinkGeek at $12.99—ten bucks cheaper than it was before. [ThinkGeek]

Micro Bluetooth Earpiece: Smaller Than a Dime, Spytastic, Handmade

Brian Lam — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:34:30 EDT

This Bluetooth headset is smaller than a dime, and small enough to be carried away by an ant. The thing is about 6mm by 5mm by 10mm. Ridica-malous! And could easily get lost in your ear. There's even a detachable buzzer, for simple communication with your poker card counting buddies, or friends across the room taking multiple choice exams with you. Who's making this wonder-gadget? Not Samsung or Motorola. A 25-year-old medical student in Russia. Before you shout Scamtastic, let me tell you more and show you the picture of this thing next to an ant. Seriously, jump!

The headset can link to phones, and audio bluetooth devices. The earpiece isn't a direct bluetooth device, though. No, it transfers audio by standard RF to a neckmounted mic, which then retransmits bluetooth to your phone. (Or Bluetooth iPod when it comes out. I swear, it's coming.) Also has a 3.5mm minijack output, which is just a standard headphone jack.

Hey NYTimes, you guys should write about this. Go ahead, the lead is yours.– Brian Lam

Micro Earpiece