Invisibility: The History and Science of How Not to Be Seen

by Gregory J. Gbur

Overview

A lively exploration of how invisibility has gone from science fiction to fact
 
Is it possible for something or someone to be made invisible? This question, which has intrigued authors of science fiction for over a century, has become a headline-grabbing topic of scientific research.
 
In this book, science writer and optical physicist Gregory J. Gbur traces the science of invisibility from its sci-fi origins in the nineteenth-century writings of authors such as H. G. Wells and Fitz James O’Brien to modern stealth technology, invisibility cloaks, and metamaterials. He explores the history of invisibility and its science and technology connections, including the discovery of the electromagnetic spectrum, the development of the atomic model, and quantum theory. He shows how invisibility has moved from fiction to reality, and he questions the hidden paths that lie ahead for researchers.
 
This is not only the story of invisibility but also the story of humankind’s understanding of the nature of light itself, and of the many fascinating figures whose discoveries advanced this knowledge.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300271423
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	04/11/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	296
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

Gregory J. Gbur is professor of physics and optical science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He is the author of Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics, and he writes two blogs on horror fiction, physics, and nature. He lives in Charlotte, NC.

Editorial Reviews

04/03/2023

Gbur (Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics), a physics professor at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, surveys in this entertaining primer the state of research into literal invisibility. Providing an overview of scientific theories on how to achieve invisibility, he explains that “passive invisibility” conceals objects by manipulating light to pass around them, while “active invisibility” involves producing new light to disguise the object. Among the fascinating examples Gbur cites of the latter is a crude invisibility cloak developed by Japanese professor Susumu Tachi that captures the scene behind the wearer with a camera and projects the image onto the cloak’s front, though the wearer remains visible from the sides. Passive invisibility poses its own problems; Gbur notes that using refraction to disguise an object would require the object to have about the same density as air. However, he suggests that research on the physics of invisibility has practical applications and contends that sea vessels could be designed to redirect ocean waves the same way that researchers hope to achieve invisibility by redirecting the electromagnetic waves that constitute light. Discussions of how relativity affects light and how light interacts with atoms can get technical, but there’s enough fun trivia to keep readers hooked. The result is a robust examination of a fascinating field of research. Photos. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

The science of invisibility remains largely theoretical and abstract. It is in the literature that the field comes alive, and Gbur may be the world’s leading expert on invisibility fiction.”—Nathaniel Rich, New York Times Book Review

“Gbur steers us through the sometimes challenging history of the ideas on which current research depends. . . . A list that helps us appreciate the potential benefits of invisible cats.”—Richard Dunn, Times Literary Supplement

“Gbur shows how optical science and ideas about the atom intertwined over two centuries. . . . I defy you not to spend your next paycheck hunting down the wilder items in Gbur’s ‘Invisibibliography.’”—Simon Ings, Fortean Times

“Entertaining. . . . A robust examination of a fascinating field of research.”—Publishers Weekly

“The dual nature (particle and wave properties) of light, reflection and refraction, imaging technologies, modern stealth aircraft, and fascinating metamaterials are all discussed. Beginning in 2006, interest among scientists in invisibility cloaking escalated as they ascertained whether it’s actually possible. . . . Might its applicability be destined primarily for military use or nefarious intentions? In his conclusion, Gbur wittily predicts that ‘the future of invisibility is very hard to see.’”—Tony Miksanek, Booklist

“Gbur presents a strong argument about the innovative, imaginative value of sci-fi, and invisibility is the perfect case study.”—Engineering & Technology

A Publishers Weekly Top 10 Science Book, Spring 2023 Announcements Issue

A CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title 2023

“Invisibility is such an addictive book, packed with smart and weird science, literature and culture, Greg Gbur’s elegant prose, and the fascinating question of whether we may one day be able to achieve that long-held dream of vanishing in a shimmer of light.”—Deborah Blum, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Poison Squad: One Chemist’s Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the 20th Century

“A lovely, well-informed book on the science and fiction of invisibility.”—Ulf Leonhardt, author of Geometry and Light: The Science of Invisibility

“Greg Gbur weaves an engaging tapestry of literature, history, and physics to illustrate how an idea that has captivated human imagination for thousands of years may one day become a reality.”—Liz Heinecke, author of Radiant: The Dancer, The Scientist, and a Friendship Forged in Light

“A well-written and engaging overview of the history of optics, taking the reader on a fascinating scientific journey.”—Andrea Alù, founding director of the Photonics Initiative at the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center

From the Publisher