Near-Infrared Light In The Dark
What is it? Not to alarm you, but there have been a bunch of mice running around with night-vision capabilities — just like Spider-Man. Those abilities were conferred by researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, who, in truth, kept those mice locked safely away in the lab. They’re just the latest subjects in a project to give humans night vision by enabling us to see near-infrared (NIR) light.
Why does it matter? The team successfully tested the technology on mice. But it could also be used to treat eye diseases or help people perform astronomy without special gear. There’s another, obvious reason why this matters: Night vision would be extremely cool.
How does it work? Humans and other mammals detect light between wavelengths of 400 and 700 nanometers. NIR light has longer wavelengths that can be detected by devices like thermal imaging cameras, but they’re bulky and expensive. The Massachusetts researchers injected the eyes of mice with nanoparticles made from the rare-earth materials erbium and ytterbium, which helped “convert low-energy photons from NIR light into higher-energy green light that mammalian eyes can see,” according to a release from the ACS. The injection lasted for about 10 weeks and didn’t seem to have any side effects.
What is it? Not to alarm you, but there have been a bunch of mice running around with night-vision capabilities — just like Spider-Man. Those abilities were conferred by researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, who, in truth, kept those mice locked safely away in the lab. They’re just the latest subjects in a project to give humans night vision by enabling us to see near-infrared (NIR) light.
Why does it matter? The team successfully tested the technology on mice. But it could also be used to treat eye diseases or help people perform astronomy without special gear. There’s another, obvious reason why this matters: Night vision would be extremely cool.
How does it work? Humans and other mammals detect light between wavelengths of 400 and 700 nanometers. NIR light has longer wavelengths that can be detected by devices like thermal imaging cameras, but they’re bulky and expensive. The Massachusetts researchers injected the eyes of mice with nanoparticles made from the rare-earth materials erbium and ytterbium, which helped “convert low-energy photons from NIR light into higher-energy green light that mammalian eyes can see,” according to a release from the ACS. The injection lasted for about 10 weeks and didn’t seem to have any side effects.
