INVISIBLE MAN A REALITY

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 73, 18 December 1937, Page 15

INVISIBLE MAN A REALITY

Successful Demonstration

TENS of thousands of amazed and startled people filed past the booth at' the Exposition of Hygiene in Vienna, where daily people and things were rendered invisible, writes Claude Vivieres in a French newspaper. They would disappear Tight before one's eyes, and it was done without resorting to trickery or camouflage of any kind. Sometimes the objects or persons would become transparent littlo by little until effaced completely. Sometimes they would fade out quickly. Yet all the time, they remained present and tangible. Through the magic of M. Armani Pinther, the famous novel of H. G. Wells, "Invisible Man," is about to become reality. The Pinther process is based on the use of a physical* effect which, however, has nothing in common with certain mysterious rays supposed to have the power tq produce invisibility. Such rays, despite their notoriety, have not yet been discovered, and it is doubtful if they ever will be. To ae'complish his process, M. Pinther only requires a closed space about the size of a small demonstration hall and open on one side to enable the public to observe the experiment. Spectators may approach within a yard of the object to be rendered invisible and so convince themselves that it has not moved- from its place while it disappeared from sight. From the moment in which it begins until the object. or person becomes com-

pletely invisible, the duratlon of the experiment may be prolonged or re« duced at will; that is, things can be made to disappear within one thirtieth of a second (maximum rapidity), or to fade out slowly by degrees. Likewise, the experiment can be repeated as often as desired and can even be induced automatically by joining it to a - suitable device, in the manner of the illuminated signs which are lit and extinguished at regular intervals by the action of a clocklike mechanism. In the course of becoming invisible slowly, the object or person is first seen to be perfectly clear in its contours, presenting its customary aspect; little by little it loses it opacity until objects placed behind and jrhich had been concealed, appear more and more clearly. At the final stage of the experiment, these objects become totally visible while .the subject is completely; and actually invisible. However, it is still present, for the spectators are permitted to satisfy themselves of the fact by touching the hand or .the end of a cane which is invisible, (It is noteworthy at this point that the hand oi cane entering the zone of invisibility also become invisible.) To reverse the process the method is the same and the time Tequired may be shorli or long. Naturally, of course, M. Pinther has refused to disclose the secreti Of his process. Everyone knows, however, that the phenomenon is likely induced by an electric device which can be kept going by a simple current. of light,