The physics of invisibility : a story of light and deception Arthur C. Clarke famously wrote that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. These words most certainly ring true with respect to invisibility cloaking devices. At work is the magic of science of course. The technology to make an object simply disappear from view is now a reality. There is both great fear and great desire in the thought of invisibility. Indeed for thousands of years authors have grappled with the idea. Power devilry secrecy ethical dilemma and moral corruption invisibility has it all. And yet our waking world is full of familiar invisible phenomena. Electricity flowing along a metal wire the gravity that keeps us grounded the air we breathe the bacteria and viruses that make us ill the X rays that reveal our broken bones all are invisible to our eyes. They surround and envelop us and we dont give them a second thought. Nature long ago learned how to play tricks with light rays enriching the world with rainbows mirages and animal camouflage. The new physics of invisibility simply aims to take these tricks of nature a few steps further. Indeed by learning what light is and how it interacts with matter physicists have begun to take control of light with metamaterials which man made can be precisely melded warped twisted transformed and even time edited. In this book the ancient and modern story of light and invisibility is revealed from early Greek speculations to the remarkable works of James Clerk Maxwell. The new and burgeoning field of transformation optics is also explored and the story behind the development of the first fully functional invisibility cloak is charted P. [4] of cover