A recent article on Howstuffworks.com explores the possibility of the invisible tank. Apparently, the British have a tank that is invisible in the works for 2012. Here how it will work:
The tank is coated in silicon, effectively turning the vehicle into a highly reflective movie screen. Video cameras positioned on the tank take real-time footage of the surrounding environment, and projectors show the images on the surface of the tank. To observers at secret trials conducted by the British army in October 2007, the only thing visible was the images of the terrain projected onto the tank.
The problem is that from certain angles the tank may be visible. However, the British plan on designing a tank that will be invisible without the cameras,
Don't think that the United States is just standing by. Here is what they are working on:
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) -- the research wing of the Pentagon -- has received the green light for $15 million in funding over three years to investigate urban obfuscants. This ambitious project is an attempt to create a protective shield for use by soldiers in urban combat situations. A shield that opens quickly in tight spaces and protects a soldier from enemy fire would be a great asset, but DARPA's not stopping there. This shield would also be able to make the soldier beneath it invisible, and would be self-healing, meaning that if a bullet does manage to get through the shield, the material could repair itself.
I think that this technology has a lot of potential and would be a devastating advantage for an enemy to have. I also wonder what kind of consumer goods will be developed because of this new technology. Well, the United States better catch up quickly to the British. After all, the British already have an Invisibility Cloak.
