It also doesn’t have any accuracy whatsoever. It only makes it possible to detect infrared, but not to see where it came from. And being opaque they make you blind when wearing the lenses.
We already can detect direction of infrared radiation, it’s called being warm on one side but not the other. Technically also possible by, say, lying half-way under a blanket and half-way not, but sensory integration takes care of the ambiguity.
Without even visiting the article I can say with full confidence these contact lenses will not be opaque.
EDIT: We really don’t have to go beyond the conceptual stage.
transparent: clear, all light goes through
translucent: clouded, some light goes through
opaque: wall, no light goes through
Yes, this includes ultraviolet light. If a contact lens is opaque, it blocks all light from passing through the eye’s lens and cornea. It will never reach the retina to even be recognized as on or off! No opaque contact lens will ever be used. Please tell me if I’m wrong…
Why? Does it also include x-rays? That’s only one step further on the electromagnetic spectrum. Seems arbitrary to stop at ultraviolet waves! Does that mean thin sheets of steel aren’t opaque? Or is the term “opaque”, without any modifiers attached, colloquially used to describe whether something permits visible light through?
For the record, they’re not opaque. The original article actually says they work better if you close your eyes.
This explains the real technology behind it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upconverting_nanoparticles
Yep, that won’t cause cancer.
It also doesn’t have any accuracy whatsoever. It only makes it possible to detect infrared, but not to see where it came from. And being opaque they make you blind when wearing the lenses.
We already can detect direction of infrared radiation, it’s called being warm on one side but not the other. Technically also possible by, say, lying half-way under a blanket and half-way not, but sensory integration takes care of the ambiguity.
More interestingly, did you know we can see the polarisation of light?
No I did not know that. Interesting.
Without even visiting the article I can say with full confidence these contact lenses will not be opaque.
EDIT: We really don’t have to go beyond the conceptual stage.
Yes, this includes ultraviolet light. If a contact lens is opaque, it blocks all light from passing through the eye’s lens and cornea. It will never reach the retina to even be recognized as on or off! No opaque contact lens will ever be used. Please tell me if I’m wrong…
Why? Does it also include x-rays? That’s only one step further on the electromagnetic spectrum. Seems arbitrary to stop at ultraviolet waves! Does that mean thin sheets of steel aren’t opaque? Or is the term “opaque”, without any modifiers attached, colloquially used to describe whether something permits visible light through?
For the record, they’re not opaque. The original article actually says they work better if you close your eyes.
Or with cosmic rays, not sure anything would be opaque.