Cloaking Spray

Man has been fascinated with invisibility since ancient times. 

In Greek mythology, Perseus used a cloak of invisibility to slay the Gorgon Medusa. Back in the era of alchemists before modern science, the quest for invisibility was almost as important as the formula to trans-mutate lead into gold.

Let's just propose for a moment that the information in the video below is true. That fictional characters are describing a real project...currently in development. The industrious (fictional) engineers at the University of Michigan have moved one step closer to achieving that goal. They developed a cloaking spray that once dry, renders any object its sprayed upon almost invisible to the naked eye. Light moves in the size of Nanometres. Once engineers began working on the Nanoparticle scale they could directly interact with light.

These engineers have created a cloaking spray composed of a liquid Nanoparticle solution that bends light. There have been several inventions that bend light to give the illusion of invisibility. Yet none have achieved the level of success as the engineers in Michigan. Their cloaking spray is unique in it's versatility. It can be sprayed, coated, or painted on any surface and make that object... disappear.

This may be science fiction, but it describes advanced nanotechnology...and it's awesome. Curved objects like spheres and bottles work better than straight edged forms, like squares or triangles. When shapes with straight edges are coated with the cloaking spray the edges are visible when it drys. Although this is a minor setback, the team have already successfully coated gloves, clothing, fruit and numerous other objects and materials with success.

The military is funding the project (of course) so they have funding to overcome any problems that may arise. Plans for invisible drones, and reconnaissance vehicles are already on the way. The engineers hope to begin human testing in the next few years. The whole idea makes me think of the movie Hollow Man...imagine that. 

For more information on the cloaking spray (prank...or project in development) and the science behind it, check out the video below. 

Biggest Black Hole Ever

This post is for all my stargazers and home astronomers. The biggest black hole ever was discovered by a group of scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy.

Black holes are intergalactic omnivores. They consume light, stars, planets, asteroids and even other black holes. A normal black hole like the one in the center of our MilkyWay galaxy only occupies 0.1 percent of the host galaxy's total mass. The black hole in galaxy NGC 1277 consumes 14 percent of the host galaxy's mass. 

To put it in numbers you can understand. The NGC 1277 black hole, has a estimated mass of 17 billion suns. (that's billion with a B) "The gigantic black hole is around 11 times as wide as the orbit of Neptune around our sun," researchers said. It's so massive they have to develop a new classification for "galaxy sized black hole systems."

As of right now astrophysics doesn't know what happens to matter after it passed through a black hole. Once something is trapped in a black holes gravitational pull there's no escape. The object begins to spin faster and faster until it disappears. The point when matter disappears in the black hole is called the "Event Horizon." At this point matter gives off swirling waves of X-rays as it disappears forever.

Black holes are difficult to study directly since they consume everything. So scientists have developed a system to measure them, by calculating the gravitational pull on their surroundings. By watching the X-rays emitted by dying matter (imagine watching something really shiny getting ground up in a blender.) scientist can estimate the size, mass and numerous other details about a black hole.

What scientists have discovered is that the inside of a black hole spins at nearly the speed of light. This is a monumental discovery which confirms Einstein’s "theory of  relativity," which theorized that black holes could spin at almost the speed of light. For more information about black holes and new developments based on these discoveries check out the video and reference articles below. 

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-02/new-telescope-discovery-distant-gargantuan-black-hole-spins-near-light-speed 

http://www.space.com/18668-biggest-black-hole-discovery.html