Technology in Science Fiction - Invisibility - Early Writers

Early Writers

• H. G. Wells wrote The Invisible Man (1897) which was the first science fiction novel to explore the idea of invisibility. The invisible man is a scientist named Griffin who theorizes that if a person’s refractive index is changed to exactly that of air and his body does not absorb or reflect light, then he will not be visible. He successfully carries out this procedure on himself, but cannot become visible again, leading to mental instability.

• J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings series which revolves around the function of a ring that renders the user invisible. Unfortunately, it had an evil influence with negative effects on the wearer's actions.

• Douglas Adams wrote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1978) novels which encompass a humorous concept of a field which makes people believe the object in question is "somebody else's problem" and therefore do not see it. This concept as explained in the book, bases off of a statement to the effect that actual invisibility is impossible and that the field is merely a way to make something close to being invisible by actually making it hard to notice deliberately.

• Philip K. Dick wrote in his 1974 novel A Scanner Darkly of a "scramble suit." This is a flexible sheath covering the body of the wearer with a reflective/refractive coating on the inside surface that transfers the camouflaging pattern- projected by a holographic lens mounted on the wearer's head- onto the outside surface of the sheath causing a camouflage-like invisibility.