They haven't been able to do anything really useful yet, but from the description what it can do is allow a certain spectrum to pass completely through it. So if you allow the visible spectrum to pass through then infra-red would be able to see into it, etc. It is very limited but there is room for improvement.

Linky to other story which explains it fairly nicely

Quote:Original post by Kaze
how would you do it without something resembling a hamster ball of machinery surounding the user

If it resembles anything, it probably isn't a very good cloaking device. That is to say, it doesn't matter what it looks like, since nobody should be able to see it.

Quote:Original post by matt_j
This is clearly a violation of the Treaty of Algeron.

That's a really stupid treaty. I don't know the details (wasn't it that the Federation and the Romulans would both stop research on cloaking devices?) but we all know the Romulans have cloaking devices, they use them all the time! Picard just should have kept their cloaking device/phase through matter device, it's only fair!

Also, I have heard of cloaking devices using electodes to make a shield out of cold plasma. I haven't really looked into this but there was some guy doing research about it on the History Channel. It probably wouldn't be much good for use on people and so far I think they've only gotten radar undetectability but I was sure there was something about becoming invisible or bending light or something like that. Again, I don't know the details. The way I put it sound a bit off. I'll go look now.

Quote:
"A bit of friction"?

A slight understatement... :)

Quote:

Quote:
Now with the downfall of USSR, the USA is the world's ultimate super power with no major contenders for military dominance.

Europe (if we get our act together), China (the Pentagon is already having a panic about China) and India (inevitable, I'd say) are the major contenders.

Change is inevitable, and the military dominance of any nation is always transient; this is why the neoconservative view of a sustainable hyper-power status for the USA is, frankly, totally nuts. I'd also say that Americans tend to vastly overestimate their technological superiority; China and India will catch up with the USA just as fast as the rest of the world caught up with Britain during the Industrial Revolution.

I can back up my claim.
-The US military is one of the few militaries in the world who can conduct amphibious assaults.
-The US Naval fleet is so far ahead of other nations in numbers and power that foriegn countries find its not worth trying to compete with US Navy.
-The US can have boots on the ground in any area of the world in 24 hours. No other nation can make that claim.
-The US Airforce is the most technologically advanced air force in the world, and probably the only air force with stealth technology. This lets us drop precision munitions on remote targets undetected.
-The US has a monopoly on satelite GPS technology, required for precision mapping and bombing.
-The US has the most advanced command centers which give commanders world wide visibility on operations.
-The US spends more money on national defense then the next five top countries combined.
-The US leads the world with combined arms attacks involving infantry, tanks, air support and artillery support. This is one of the most important evolutions of modern warfare.
-The US military is one of the most professional, well trained, well equiped militaries in the world with a large emphasis on small unit leadership.

My own personal assessments of foriegn countries military strength:
China may have lots of troops, but so does the US. Strategically, an attacker needs a 10 to 1 ratio of troops to successfully mount an attack. Today, if a concentrated enemy force is found, their life expectancy is 2.5 minutes before artillery shells and bombs get there. Before china can expect to compete with the USA militarily, they will need to build an airforce and navy which can compete with the USA. China doesn't have the economic power to support one yet.

The EU could eventually be a world super power, but its unlikely to happen for another decade since it takes one or two countries to veto a military action and its unlikely to see european nations collaborate on defense technologies. I personally have a lot of hope for the EU to become a model for the world in terms of nations cooperating with each other peacefully.

The Indian military is entirely for self defense from Chinese ambitions and Pakistani/India conflicts in Kashmir.

Quote:

Quote:
Quote:
If you look back into the roman times, there was a 700 year period of relative peace within the roman empire which was called the Pax Romana. There was peace because the romans dominated the whole european region and crushed any opposing resistance.

Peace in the Empires interior, yes (apart from the occasional slave rebellion or civil war). But it was constant war on the frontiers, and there are plenty of examples of Rome being defeated during attempts to expand the empire during this period. And eventually, of course, they were comprehensively defeated in the North as the Germanic tribes swept through Europe, and in the South as the Arabs took everywhere south of Anatolia. My point is, that Pax Romana didn't really exist in the sense you have suggested.

Anyway, back on topic; it's probably not going to be anything you will see on a battlefield for a few decades yet. Remember, for example, that the Germans were working on sauser shaped aircraft back in 1945. We still don't have them yet.

Jon

I'm not 100% up to speed on my roman history. There was a time of relative peace in the european world for a long period of time though.

Flying Saucers...There was a good show on the discovery channel about flying saucer research from the WW2 era and the progression of the research. It was pretty interesting. One of the research results was that even though flying saucers have an aerodynamic form, they also have an unstable flight. The US Gov. eventually developed the B-2 bomber and the F-117 from the flying saucer research, but if any further research into the flying saucer shape exists, its still classified.

EDIT:

Quote:

Quote:
Quote:There may be guerilla warfare which can be a thorn in the side of any military force, but guerilla warfare is countered by turning a local population against the guerilla forces. If guerilla warfare is the only hope a nation has for repelling a foriegn invader, then their national defense is in pretty bad shape. The point of guerilla warfare is to beat your opponent in terms of attrition...it may not work in future conflicts since both sides adapt to overcome.

You might be interested to read Future Tense. Aside from being a good book, it examines why Guerilla wars are so hard to win, and why we're losing one in Iraq as I write this.

Mao, the king of guerilla war, once said that in order for Guerilla Warfare to succeed "The water has to be the right temperature for the fish to swim". That means the local populace has to be indifferent or friendly towards guerilla fighters. The US focus in Iraq isn't on defeating the guerilla fighters, but on training the Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police, getting Iraqi Government to power, and rebuilding the infrastructure of the country after 13 years of decay. The guerilla fighters in Iraq prevent the country from going forward because they cause a hostile environment, which in turn prevents businesses from operating, which in turn, hampers the local economy. The problem in Iraqi is more of a societal problem then a military/security problem. Iraqis have been told for 35 years on what to do and how to do it by their government. Anyone who had big ambitions was likely to be seen as a political enemy and shot. Now, US forces come to Iraq and the country is void of anyone willing or able to take charge as a capable leader. Fortunately, the younger Iraqis haven't been under the influence of Saddams government as long and they're eager to bounce back and lend a hand...or shoot americans.
Eventually the environment will get more hostile for guerilla warfare and there will be a gradual fading of attacks (as I look into my crystal ball).