The Real Science of Invisibility

The Real Science of Invisibility — page 1 — INTRODUCTION WHO'S THERE Getting ready in the morning would be a lot easier if you were invisible Beep beep beep You groan as you reach over to turn off your alarm clock It’s time to get ready for school Your hair is a mess but you don’t mind You possess an invisibility cloak With one swift motion you drape the cloak over your head Just like that you disappear 4

The Real Science of Invisibility — page 2 — You head downstairs for breakfast and see your sister making cookies for a bake sale You walk right past her undetected You snatch a cookie and take a huge bite This is the best superpower ever Unfortunately invisibility cloaks aren’t real But think about all the things you could do if they were You could pull off the best magic tricks and win every game of hide-and-seek You could work as a spy or secret agent And you could help fight crime just like a hero Magicians use tricks to make objects seem to disappear 5

The Real Science of Invisibility — page 3 — CHAPTER 1 THE SCIENCE OF INVISIBILITY We can see when light enters our eyes What does it mean to be invisible First let’s look at how vision works Humans can see objects that reflect light When light hits an object some of the light bounces off and goes to the eye The light hits receptors in the eye that send messages to the brain The brain interprets the messages into the color and shape of the object 6

The Real Science of Invisibility — page 4 — Without light nothing is visible This is why we can’t see in the dark A dark room may look empty but it could be full of objects you can’t see because there is no reflected light for your eyes to absorb Doctors can use X-rays to look at internal body parts SUPERFAST FACT X-ray vision helps fictional heroes see through anything X-ray machines help doctors see through skin and muscles to view bones 7

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