Invisibility: The History and Science of How Not to Be Seen

by Gregory J. Gbur

A lively exploration of how invisibility has gone from science fiction to fact
 
“The science of invisibility remains largely theoretical and abstract. It is in the literature that the field comes alive, and Gbur may be the world’s leading expert on invisibility fiction.”—Nathaniel Rich, New York Times Book Review
 
“Entertaining. . . . A robust examination of a fascinating field of research.”— Publishers Weekly
 
Is it possible for something or someone to be made invisible? This question, which has intrigued authors of science fiction for over a century, has become a headline-grabbing topic of scientific research.
 
In this book, science writer and optical physicist Gregory J. Gbur traces the science of invisibility from its sci-fi origins in the nineteenth-century writings of authors such as H. G. Wells and Fitz James O’Brien to modern stealth technology, invisibility cloaks, and metamaterials. He explores the history of invisibility and its science and technology connections, including the discovery of the electromagnetic spectrum, the development of the atomic model, and quantum theory. He shows how invisibility has moved from fiction to reality, and he questions the hidden paths that lie ahead for researchers.
 
This is not only the story of invisibility but also the story of humankind’s understanding of the nature of light itself, and of the many fascinating figures whose discoveries advanced this knowledge.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Physics, Audiobook, History, Nature, Technology

288 pages, Hardcover

Published April 11, 2023

About the author

Gregory J. Gbur is professor of physics and optical science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He contributed to the book Science Blogging: The Essential Guide and writes two blogs about horror and the history of science.

Reviews

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently finished Invisibility by Gregory Gbur over a flight of beer on a work trip, and I do believe it is the nerdiest book I’ve read so far this year. Although the book is pitched as “the history and science of how not to be seen,” the subject of invisibility disappears on page 12 and barely shows up again until page 187. Because, as it turns out, the history of invisibility is actually first and foremost the history of light.

If you think your grasp on optical physics is tenuous at best, never fear: Gbur recounts and explains the history of light like the friendly and knowledgeable professor he is. I found his writing remarkably easy to read, and each chapter led right into the next like an unassuming chauffeur. I particularly enjoyed learning about the scientists whose thinking created turning points in our understanding of waves, particles, and atoms, names like Maxwell, Bohr, Young, Planck, and Einstein. Some performed crazy experiments while others wrestled the theoretical math to the ground, but one thing was for sure: they ALL debated with each other. Professionally, of course.

One particularly unique aspect of the book was that Gbur included examples of invisibility in science fiction writing and discussed how the ideas interacted with the real science of the time, such as The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells. I am personally disappointed that a starship cloaking device was not one of the myriad examples, but I suppose I’ll survive…

If you enjoy stretching your brain and want to read about light, lasers, optics, and super cool invisibility stuff in an approachable way, I highly recommend Invisibility. You’ll never look at a “bent” straw in your water glass the same way again.

[عدنان العبار · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite physics nonfic in years! An amazing introduction to optical physics and electromagnetic waves, and a tour of invisibility research that is worth your time even if you know nothing about optics. I seriously enjoyed the scientific segments much more than the fiction. Professor Gbur has proved himself a historian who is more than competent and able to write about the history of physics, making it fun for both laymen and specialists alike.

[Kam Yung Soh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic and readable book on the history of invisibility. But before getting there, the author covers the history of the nature of light from the past through to the present. The excepts of fictional stories featuring invisibility found at the start of each chapter are also very interesting.

Once the nature of light is given, the author then shows how current research is looking into ways to take advantage of how light behaves to make things invisible, either by making light 'avoid' the object of interest, or by destructively interfering with the light emitted by the objects, so it cannot be detected.

The book closes with a look at how the technology and science used to make objects invisible to light can also be used to make objects invisible to other forms of energy, like sound, water waves and even earthquakes.

One property of charged particles mentioned in the book was especially interesting and new to me. Most people are probably told that accelerated charged particles emit electromagnetic radiation (light), which was one of the reasons models of atoms with orbiting electrons were hard to get correct before the advent of quantum physics. But the author points out that it is possible to accelerate charged particles on a small sphere without the emission of light, making such spheres invisible.

'Trivia' like this, as well as a good presentation of historial and current day research in to the properties of light, make the book an excellent read.

[Reading · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm just not sure who this book is for.

I found the book to be INCREDIBLY complicated and hard to follow. For what it's worth I took AP Physics in high school and several college science classes about a decade ago. I'd consider myself a relatively intelligent layman, and this thing went RIGHT over my head.

So it's not for the casual science reader.

But then again it's not an advanced book either. I think someone who is a PhD level physicist or someone who specializes in optics would find this book to be VERY basic. It's sort of just a primer on the major discoveries in the field of optics. I have to assume that anyone going into the field would cover all of this within a few years of study.

So it's not for the advanced science reader either.

What else is left? We have some light biographical information on victorian-era sci fi writers. Okay. We have some light biographical information on the major scientists of the last 150 years. Okay.

Oh yeah wait this book is supposed to be about invisibility? On the one hand it's a novel approach to say "First we must understand visibility before we can understand INvisibility", but this book spends 200 of its 220 pages talking about visibility, and then the last 20 pages are spent basically saying "we can't quite do invisibility yet".

WHO IS THIS FOR?

[Ágoston Török · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a genuine surprise. I didn't have high hopes: it's a new book, it wasn't overmarketinged, the reviews here were mentioning that it's not all about invisibility etc. Nevertheless, this is an awesome book, must read for every geek and really entertaining for anyone mildly interested in science. True, it doesn't tell about invisibility on every page and I would have added the title "The history of light" or "7 unbelievable stories of light" but the book is written well, it tells about the science of light and is written by someone who is an accomplished academic researcher of the field and it really tells about invisibility and its realization, not only in science fiction.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciate, as a one-time physics major, when a popular science book doesn't pull its punches. Gbur's overview of invisibility in science and story remains accessible while still introducing me to ideas and concepts that I hadn't previously encountered in my undergraduate studies. His personal connection to the field only adds to the narrative. I added this book to my TBR list before it was published when I happened upon the author's tweet about submitting the manuscript, and it was worth the wait to finally get a hold of it. A great overview of a fascinating topic.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't let the title fool you. The body of the book is primarily a physics history discussing how science figured out atomic structure, the nature of light and color, with the occasional fictional take mixed in. At the end we get some discussion of how modern science has, to a very limited degree, made small objects invisible.
I was disappointed. That said, the book is informative in what it does discuss though it's slightly past the limits of what I can grasp in physics (whether that's me, the writing or that it wasn't what I wanted to learn about I know not).

[Scott Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This well-written book is probably too technical for most non-academic readers. It's also a bit of a bait-and-switch. Most people would expect a book about invisibility to discuss the possibility of making an opaque object impossible to see. Instead, the book is more about cloaking, in which a device directs light around an object so you can't see it at the moment. The object remains unchanged and is not itself "invisible." The author clearly means well and would be interesting to talk to. If he visits Madison, Wisconsin, I would treat him to lunch.

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a perfect science history book! The author introduces every chapter with a quote from a science fiction book about invisibility which just made me smile every time. He has a casual but not condescending way of describing complex discoveries and theories and generously includes pictures and diagrams. I really enjoyed this and absolutely recommend it to people who love science history. Off to watch YouTube videos of invisibility cloaks now.

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading it even though I barely understood what was written. My grasp of physics is fairly non-existent given my dismal D in the Mechanics portion of my Maths A-level class. Totally tanked my grade all those years ago! This was the first book of the year for the online @thepeculiarbookclub , which focuses mainly on quirky science books. I caught the author discussion recording on YouTube.

[Sacha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some reviewers complain that there is not enough about invisibility throughout this book. That is fair. However, the book is so much fun to read and the history so interesting, I don't care. The end of each chapter has a comment about invisibility and the end of the book focuses on invisibility. The bulk of the book is a history of our understanding of light. I learned a great deal and could probably learn as much again from reading the book over!

[Karl Rhynas · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was, well a good book to help me sleep. An interesting read for sure but not much about invisibility itself. That's likely because it's still hidden...

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

History of optics presented in a series of chapters that each open with what was happening in scifi fiction due to the current understanding of optics at a given time period.

[Amy Shira Teitel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. I've known Greg for years and he's truly a wonderful writer and communicator. There are a lot of big topics and big science but everything is super clear and accessible.

[Alvin Walter · Rating 4 out of 5]

How Not to Be Seen

This author came up with many creative and some obvious ways not to be seen. It is definitely a worthy read if you appreciate the unusual.