A new color, named “olo.”
BBC reports on an odd optical experiment that resulted in human eyes seeing an entirely new color, a kind of super-saturated aqua they’ve dubbed “olo”:
… Read the rest “A new color, named “olo.””By stimulating
optics
Science Art: Fluorescence and birefringence of 445 nm blue laser in calcite crystal, Jan Pavelka, 2011.
Calcite refracts light in a linear way – it’s why (as previous songs have discussed) it may have been used as a navigational tool by Vikings. It tends to make light that passes… Read the rest “Science Art: Fluorescence and birefringence of 445 nm blue laser in calcite crystal, Jan Pavelka, 2011.”
Science Art: Diagram illustrating the inherent conspicuousness of an eye-spot…, Cott, 1942.
An illustration showing how noticeable an eye actually is, from the text The Vertebrate Eye and Its Adaptive Radiation, which looks at eyes, eyes everywhere, all kinds of eyes. The book … Read the rest “Science Art: Diagram illustrating the inherent conspicuousness of an eye-spot…, Cott, 1942.”
Science Art: Altitude and azimuth instrument, 1876.
How high?
This device will tell you.
It’s from The great Centennial exhibition critically described and illustrated, by Phillip T. Sandhurst, which you can read on archive.org… Read the rest “Science Art: Altitude and azimuth instrument, 1876.”
Science Art: If Bodies fill the Same Angle, their Size is Proportional to their Distance, 1898
This is an oddly domestic example of an astronomical principle … or maybe it only seems domestic to me because I keep a bicycle in my living room. But anyway, three very different objects… Read the rest “Science Art: If Bodies fill the Same Angle, their Size is Proportional to their Distance, 1898”
Magic mirror brings the Buddha’s enlightenment… when the light hits it just right.
CNN reports on an unexpected discovery in the Cincinnati Art Museum’s East Asian collection, where an unremarkable-looking bronze mirror was just revealed to reflect a hidden … Read the rest “Magic mirror brings the Buddha’s enlightenment… when the light hits it just right.”
Science Art: Power spectrum of Siemens star with 1024 line pairs per image height, by Bautsch, 2012.
This is a Siemens star, a pattern used to calibrate optical equipment – to see how well the lens (or raster, or driver, or whatever) can see. Although actually, this graphic is not merely… Read the rest “Science Art: Power spectrum of Siemens star with 1024 line pairs per image height, by Bautsch, 2012.”
Camera lens based on a trilobite’s eye keeps objects in focus near and far.
Science News looks at the world through the eyes of Dalmanitina socialis, a creature extinct for 400 million years who could focus on objects as close as 3 centimeters and as far as 2 kilometers… Read the rest “Camera lens based on a trilobite’s eye keeps objects in focus near and far.”
A brittle star’s whole body is an eye.
Scientific American looks at how these starfish relatives don’t need eyes to see:
… Read the rest “A brittle star’s whole body is an eye.”And yet now there appears to be something far stranger about the biology of at least one species:
Science Art: Marconi Photo-Cell for Transmitter from Television Optics, 1938.
Embryonic television. I like how this device has an almost Lovecraftian vibe, as if sending moving pictures was a thing that involved mystical processes. What’s in the box, man? … Read the rest “Science Art: Marconi Photo-Cell for Transmitter from Television Optics, 1938.”
A bit more evidence that Viking sunstones really worked.
PhysOrg returns to the sunstone – remember the sunstone? the calcite crystal that may have helped the Vikings plot courses at sea? that inspired this song a couple years back? –… Read the rest “A bit more evidence that Viking sunstones really worked.”
Science Art: Red laser through irregular glass mj1, by Mariojan Photo, 2007
A red laser pointer. A chunk of “bad” glass. A blank wall. And here, a remarkable thing.
From the Wikimedia Commons description:
… Read the rest “Science Art: Red laser through irregular glass mj1, by Mariojan Photo, 2007”A red laser beam passes
Telescopic contact lenses
They’re not exactly pretty yet, but New Scientist has the skinny on a real James Bond-style super-gadget, telescopic contact lenses:
… Read the rest “Telescopic contact lenses”Developed by a team led by Eric Tremblay at the
Science Art: Text-fig. 5. – Model of electron paths, 1946
It looks like a wrought-iron finial for a curtain rod. It’s actually a demonstration of how electrons can be used as a lens – how an electron microscope make… Read the rest “Science Art: Text-fig. 5. – Model of electron paths, 1946”
Screen light too bright, can’t get to sleep at night (now, eyes won’t focus right).
I don’t normally go to Business Insider for science news, but they’ve actually got a pretty good rundown of recent research into the problems with taking smart phones to bed… Read the rest “Screen light too bright, can’t get to sleep at night (now, eyes won’t focus right).”