Invisibility

[deleted-375393]

Recently I've been looking around for a really cool science project, when surfing around I came across a science "experiment" the Rochester cloack . Now here's my question or as I should say series of questions, 1 is this an easy experiment , some experiments ( such as making a magnet float ) seem to be extremely easy at first, but as soon as you do them their nearly impossible . 2 do I need specific things, or can I just use regular magnifying glasses , stick them in some putty or drill them into a board, to make them stand 3, do you need anything specific such as lighting, and FINNALY hoe do I turn this into a science project , thanks again Katie

[deleted-2131]

Hi Katietp3,

To turn the "Rochester cloak" lens system into a science fair project, you will need to ask a testable question. For example, you might ask a question like, "Does the texture of an object affect how well it is made "invisible?" or "How does lighting direction affect how well the Rochester cloak makes an object "invisible"?" You would then state your hypothesis - an educated guess - about what the outcome of an experiment done to test your question would be.

I haven't tried building the lens system, but the clearest directions that I found were these ones. It doesn't look particularly complicated to make.

http://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/ ... ISENet.pdf

When working with lenses, precise measurements are important. So, make sure to measure carefully and place the lenses are the correct distances from each other. I would suggest purchasing the specific lenses listed in the PDF I linked to. If you use the lens from a magnifying glass you already have, you might need to calculate the focal length of the lens. That isn't terrible difficult, but you are much more likely to have success building the cloaking system if you use the specific lenses suggested.

Post back as you have other questions. This sounds like a neat project!

[deleted-375393]

Hi, I actually really like the idea, it's not to complicated, but I have another question, when you were referring to "does the texture of an object change how well it can be clocked" I'm a tad bit confused, are you referring to the object itself, like the thing you are clocking or the mirrors ?? Thanks again

[deleted-2131]

Hi Katietp3,

I was referring to the texture of the thing being cloaked. My suggestion would be to build the lens system first, do a bit of experimenting with it to make sure you have it working well, and then decide on your exact question. I suspect that you might have better luck going with illumination or viewing geometry as your independent variable than if you end up choosing to study texture, however.

[deleted-375393]

It's not necceraly because I don't want to do it, it's more of a I'm not quite sure what you mean by illumination or viewing geometry as I am only in grade 8 . I'd love if you explained it a bit more, thank you again

[deleted-2131]

Hi Katietp3,

I'm happy to explain in more detail; thank you for asking. Illumination refers to how the object being cloaked is lit up. For example, the object could be lit up from the side, from behind, from the front, from the top, or from below. Viewing geometry refers to how you are observing the lenses. You can look into the lenses from a bunch of different positions. For example, you could look straight into the lenses, or you could look into the lenses from one side.

Another idea I just had - and one that might actually be the easiest to experiment with - would be to use on object's size as the independent variable. You could gather some objects that are all the same, except for their sizes, and see whether the cloaking device works on them. For example, you could use circles of colored paper cut into different sizes. Then you could test to see whether the cloaking device makes the circles invisible. How large can a circle be before it is too big for the cloaking device to make it entirely invisible? You would need to keep all of your other variables constant, such as the position from which you looked through the lenses, the distance of the object from the last lens, and the lighting in the room when you do the experiments

I hope this helps; post back as you have other questions!