Many individuals have speculated that being
invisible would provide a lifetime of entertainment and a perfect
stealth with which to perform
espionage upon others. However, there is one flaw to this entire ideal. Even if one were capable of rendering one's self invisible, one would succeed in crippling one's self equally well. If
light is unaffected by a physical body, if no
energy is transferred from the
electromagnetic wave we know as light to the
retina, no
image can be seen. Thus, one would be absolutely
blind. To understand this fully, one must understand a little physics.
Light is a moniker for a certain, narrow band of frequency in the electromagnetic spectrum. Light travels in packets known as photons. When a photon strikes an electron, it transfers a certain amount of energy dependent on the frequency (which is dependent on the energy) of the electromagnetic wave the packet is a part of to that electron, generally temporarily causing that electron to jump to a higher energy level and perhaps to a higher valence. When the affected electron is a part of a cone or a rod in the retina of the eye, the energy transfer is registered as color. The color depends on the amount of energy transferred and the size of the jump in valence. But, if something is invisible, it implies that light passes through the object without ANY interaction which would change the properties of the light. This means that NO energy can be transferred to any electrons from any photons, and thus, no valence levels are changed and no light is seen.