Invisibility cloaks, other Potter props could soon exist

Invisibility cloaks, disappearing boxes and flying brooms from the fantasy world of the fictional character Harry Potter could soon be a reality.

Or at least that's what Roger Highfield, author of The Science of Harry Potter, believes.

"It really does look as though they are becoming a reality," said Highfield in an interview on the CBC radio show Q Thursday.

"Theoretically, invisibility is possible."

Earlier this summer, two different groups at the International Quantum Electronics Conference in Baltimore showed prototypes of functioning invisibility cloaks. The material was able to bend light around an object, making it disappear. Although the cloaks were not large enough to hide a human body, the prototypes were a small indication that fiction may not be that far from reality.

"The problem is making a big cloak … it's going to take a few years yet to make that invisibility cloak," said Highfield.

In his book, Highfield explores the science behind the invisibility cloak and other magical objects from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of children's books.

"What fascinated me about Harry Potter books was that you could kinda cut them two different ways," said Highfield. "One was to look at things like invisibility cloaks … or broomsticks and just ask top scientists would this ever be possible. And the other big issue is why do we believe in this stuff? Why is the human brain susceptible to these things?"

The next Harry Potter object to make the move from fantasy to reality could be the sorting hat, according to Highfield.

In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, a magical hat assigns the pupils to their houses. Potter, however, has a telepathic discussion with the sorting hat about which house he should join.

"We got all sorts of brain scan technologies where we have done a limited form of this," says Highfield about the similarities to the sorting hat.

"We can measure the pattern of activity, and we can tell what they are thinking about. We are getting to a point where we can see what people are thinking about,"

Highfield has written half a dozen books and was the science editor of The Daily Telegraph. He was the first person to bounce a neutron off a soap bubble. Highfield is currently the editor of New Scientist magazine.

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I'm really excited to watch Harry Potter's next movie. I wonder what would the sorting hat will reveal.

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