A Real Cloaking Device!

Well, sorta...

German scientists have created a three-dimensional "invisibility cloak" that can hide objects by bending light waves.

Transformation optics use a class of materials called metamaterials that guide and control light.

In their study, Ergin and his colleagues used photonic crystals with a structure that looks like piles of wood to make an invisibility device, or cloak. They used the cloak to conceal a small bump on a gold surface -- a bit like hiding a small object underneath a carpet and then making both the bump and the carpet invisible.

While that's kinda cool, I'm certainly not going to ruin the sleek lines of my K'Vort-class scout frigate by gluing a bunch of crystals to the outer hull like some New Age Federation weakling.

(WARNING!!! That last link contains a toxic level of geekiness. If you haven't spent years conditioning yourself against such exposure, it could send you into a catatonic trance and/or create an uncontrollable urge to dress like an idiot.)