Mantis Shrimp Eyes Could Lead To Movies Of The Future
Sunday, October 25, 2009 - 15:49
in Physics & Chemistry
A marine crustacean could inspire the next generation of DVD and CD players, says a new study in Nature Photonics. Mantis shrimps found on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia have the most complex vision systems known to science. They can see in twelve colors (humans see in only three) and can distinguish between different forms of polarized light. Special light-sensitive cells in mantis shrimp eyes act as quarter-wave plates; they can rotate the plane of the oscillations (the polarization) of a light wave as it travels through it. This capability makes it possible for mantis shrimps to convert linearly polarized light to circularly polarized light and vice versa. read more
