Active Invisibility and the Invisible Man

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Active invisibility is when you have to do some sort of effort to make the invisibility happen. Most active invisibility like that isn't true invisibility, but rather an illusion that only works at specific angles or in specific directions. In written fiction, there is a story by Algis Budres which featured an invisible weapons carrier. Greg further explains it as structures that are designed to just take light and guide it around a central hidden region.

Invisibility cloaks. Transparent frogs. Stealth bombers. Gorilla mischief. Theoretical optical physicist and Invisible Photologist Dr. Greg Gbur joins Alie to chat about light, illusions, secret technology, science fiction inspiration, terrible camouflage, great movies, historical mishaps, and even a few great household life hacks – and why you should go read a book on your porch. Perhaps his book, Invisibility: The History and Science of How Not To Be Seen.

Visit Dr. Greg Gbur’s blogs, Skulls in the Stars and Science Chamber of Horrors, and follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Instagram and TikTok

Buy Dr. Gbur’s book, Invisibility: The History and Science of How Not To Be Seen, on Bookshop.org or Amazon

His 2019 book, Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics, is also available on Bookshop.org and Amazon

A donation went to Doctors Without Borders