Play

The cloak of invisibility from JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series was definitely one of the most magical, coveted objects from the fantasy novels. Ever since the publication of the books, people across the world have been employing quantum physics and mechanics to create a real-world version of the invisibility cloak. There has been some progress, but nothing like the real deal.

However, a new video (above) from China shows a seemingly transparent swathe of cloth that looks and works remarkably like Harry’s cloak from the books (and films). Posted initially on Weibo, the video has gathered over 21.4 million views amongst Chinese web users, for the product that claims to be a China-made “quantum of invisibility cloak”.

Even the deputy head of Criminal Investigation Department at Ministry of Public Security China, Chen Shiqu, reposted the video, saying the “invisibility cloak” could be useful in military. “This is a quantum technology-made cloth that is made of transparent material, it can reflect the light wave around the person who wears it so it can make the person disappear,” he wrote on his Weibo account, adding, “Soldiers wearing this cloak can avoid night vision spy but what happened if the criminals used the cloak?”

It’s a valid question, indeed, but Chen need not worry. Much to everyone’s disappointment, according to Mail Online, a producer at Quantum Video production company, dismissed the cloak and the video. Zhu Zhensong told reporters that the video was edited or filmed with a blue or green plastic cloth, and that the video used an effect seen often in action movies, where they use software packages to edit the background and blend objects into it. Many web users, too, in spite of their overt enthusiasm, noticed that some leaves on the cloth were not moving, though the real ones were.