Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and the goblin banker Griphook (Warwick Davis) are concealed beneath an invisibility cloak in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2."
By Alan Boyle
Harry Potter's invisibility cloak comes in handy for the final installment of the boy wizard's film saga, but real-life invisibility technologies might well be at least as useful — even if they aren't as cool as Harry's cloak.
For the foreseeable future, the benefits provided by the real-life gizmos that have come to be called "invisibility cloaks" or "cloaking devices" really won't have much to do with the kind of tricks you'll see in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2." Sorry to disappoint, but you won't be able to throw a high-tech fabric over your head and disappear from the scene when the bad guys come looking for you.
However, it is conceivable that scientists could look at viruses and protein molecules directly, using new breeds of ultra-high-resolution "superlenses." Physicians might have more accurate ultrasound scanners at their disposal. Acoustical cloaks could hide ships or underwater assets from sonar detection. And offshore facilities could be engineered to soften the effects of wave erosion on the shore ... or amplify ocean waves for generating renewable power.
Read More: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/07/14/7085017-invisibility-gets-a-reality-check
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