◎陈成良
It sounds like a far-fetched invention from science-fiction or fairytales.
乍听之下，这像是科幻小说或童话故事中牵强附会的发明。
But US scientists have developed a working invisibility cloak made from small particles of glass.
不过，美国科学家已开发出一种由小玻璃粒子制成，能发挥隐形作用的披风。
When light hits an object, it bounces off the surface and into the naked eye, making it visible. But researchers at Michigan Tech University have found a way of capturing infrared light and bending it around an object, making it invisible.
当光线照射物体，物体表面反射光线到肉眼，使物体能被看见。不过，密西根科技大学的研究人员已经发现了一种方法，可以捕获红外光并使其在物体周围发生弯曲，从而让物体隐形。
At the moment the science is still based in the lab. But if the same results could be achieved with visible light, the shrouded object would disappear from sight.
到目前为止，这项科学仍处于实验室阶段，但如果能以可见光线达成相同结果，被笼罩的物体也会从眼前消失。
Professor Elena Semouchkina has developed a nonmetallic cloak that uses identical glass resonators made of chalcogenide glass, a type of material that does not conduct electricity.
赛莫金娜教授开发的这种非金属材质的披风，采用了与红外线波长尺寸相同的玻璃共振片，由硫系玻璃制成，不会导电。
In computer simulations, the cloak made objects hit by infrared waves—approximately one micron or one-millionth of a metre long—disappear from view.
在计算机仿真中，盖上披风的物体受到红外线照射，然后它真的从视线中消失了。她所使用的红外线波长约为1微米，即1米的100万分之一。
It is the first time scientists have tried using glass to bend light in this way.
这是科学家首次尝试使用玻璃材质来实现光线的弯曲。
新闻辞典
far-fetched：形容词，牵强附会的。例句：I’m not conviced by your far-fetched excuse.（我不会被你牵强的理由说服。）
（be）made from：词组，（产生本质变化的）由……制成。例句：The paper is made from wood.（纸是木材做的。）「be made of」则表示由成品可看出原料，例句：The table is made of wood. （这张桌子是木头制造的。）
chalcogenide glasses：科学名词，硫系玻璃。是指以硫系元素硫（S）、硒（Se）与碲（Te）为主体的玻璃。
