The physics of invisibility cloaks could allow for designing a cloak that could render objects “invisible” to destructive storm waves or tsunamis, say physicists in France and the UK.

When waves travel through the cloak they are compressed into tiny fluctuations in pressure and density that travel along the fastest path available. By tuning the cloak’s properties, that path can be made to be an arc that directs surface waves away from an area inside the cloak. When the waves exit the cloak, they return to their previous, larger size.