Scientists Successfully Extend Human Eye's Vision Into Near Infrared

Have you ever wished that your eyes could see just a little better in the dark? Or maybe see the light of your TV’s remote? (Who hasn’t?) If you have, there’s hope! Scientists have successfully expanded the human eye’s vision to 950nm, which is near infrared.

This is a major breakthrough in science because prior to this experiment, being able to see infrared light was something that only cameras could do. By extending the eye’s vision even more, we might be able to see better in the dark like we would with night vision devices.

Human vision is confined to a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum called visible light. Enhanced spectral range allows the viewer to take advantage of non-visible sources of electromagnetic radiation (such as near-infrared or ultraviolet radiation). (Source: Wikipedia)

[REWIND: FIRST IMAGES OF SONY’S CURVED SENSOR]

Infrared light is usually invisible for the human eye. Cameras can “see” it, though. The scientists of “Science for the Masses” created a crowdfunding campaign on the site, “Experiment” which reached its goal of $4000.

The theory that they proposed was that if one limits Vitamin A1 in their diet while having a lot of Vitamin A2 in it, the body would naturally produce more porphyropsin – the protein that allows fresh water fish to see in infrared- and hopefully would allow humans to as well.

Their theory was apparently right as you can see more in-depth over here. According to their update on Experiment, they successfully allowed the human eye to see up to 950nm- near infrared.