The world has been dying for the power of invisibility ever since science fiction movies started displaying them in the early 1920s and 30s. But people were particularly wowed when Harry Potter craftily walked around Hogwarts with his trusty cloak.
It's 2017, surely we're at that stage where we can whip up one of these bad boys?
Well, one bloke from the University of Berkley reckons he's developed one that comes pretty close to science fiction and wizardry. Professor Zhang Xiang has uploaded a video which has got a lot of people talking.
The video shows him walking down some steps and unfurling a piece of cloth that magically makes him invisible. While it's obvious that he's holding up a sheet of something, you can still see through to the other side as if it's just clear plastic.
Ministry of Public Security Deputy Head of Criminal Investigation Department Chen Shiqu shared the video and wrote: "Quantum camouflage clothing is made of clothes made of quantum invisible materials, by reflecting the light waves around the wearer, and can make people wearing such clothes achieve 'invisible' effect.
"This technology can be more used in the military."
He added that the 'stealth military uniform' could also avoid night vision goggles but he highlighted the potential problem of criminals getting their hands on the technology.
But before you start looking into your bank account to see how many spare pennies you can invest in the technology, you might want to hold on for a second. Dozens of people have been giving their opinions on the video on the Weibo account where the video was uploaded, as well as other sites where the clip has been posted.
One person wrote: "This is a single-color cloth that is replaced with a pre-recorded background. This is a very common video synthesis method."
While another added: "The leaves he touched at his feet had a double shadow, which should have been static after touching and swinging."
According to HowStuffWorks, invisibility can be achieved through a few means. One way is carbon nanotubes, which help bend the light around an object in much the same way a mirage occurs in hot areas. The only problem with this technology is that it's still at petri dish level and nowhere close to being applied to human-sized objects.
Metamaterials are apparently smaller than the wavelength of light and therefore can guide rays of light around an object. Again, this type of technology is very, very much in its infancy so don't hold your breath for a metamaterial Christmas present.
Sources: Weibo, HowStuffWorks
Topics: Viral, Harry Potter, Interesting, Technology, Community, Weird