Glasses to see other light in the light spectrum possible?

[mad_scientist]

Hi guys,

 

I recently heard that now there are glasses that you can buy if you are colour blind to see the missing colours from one's regular vision (http://enchroma.com/).

 

I am just wondering and have been thinking all humans are actually all colour blind to a large extent as we cannot see the large range of light out there except what is in the visible light spectrum. The mantis shrimp for example (http://www.livescience.com/42797-mantis-shrimp-sees-color.html) has 12 colour receptors in its eyes and has excellent vision.

 

Will science ever advance in our century enough to provide glasses which we can use to see light from the infrared, UV and other ranges so we can see better?

 

Also, what are the advantages of having more colour receptors in your eye than we currently have?

Are there any disadvantageous to have too many colour receptors in one's eyes for humans?

 

Another way we might be able to see more colours may be through genetic engineering and dna selection and this may be a future possibility and am just considering the ramifications if such technology (e.g. the glasses) or more rods and cones placed in the eye to see better can be created for all human-kind.

 

Also, sorry, I'm not sure exactly where to put this thread so I have decided to place it in the Lounge, please feel free to move it elsewhere if an admin or someone believes there is a more appropriate place for this to be placed in the forums!

 

thanks,

mad_scientist

[Country Boy]

There already are such "glasses"- surely you have heard of "dark glasses" that allow people to "see" infra-red. What they do is convert light in the infra-red spectrum to the visible spectrum.

[NimrodTheGoat]

If they just convert, then are we missing out on how the original picture is supposed to look like?

 

 

 

 

Also, what are the advantages of having more colour receptors in your eye than we currently have?

Are there any disadvantageous to have too many colour receptors in one's eyes for humans?

I would also like to know the answer to this question

 

 

We would see different shades of colors. (thats all i know)

Edited March 31, 2017 by NimrodTheGoat

[StringJunky]

If they just convert, then are we missing out on how the original picture is supposed to look like?

 

 

 

I would also like to know the answer to this question

 

 

We would see different shades of colors. (thats all i know)

How do you know that the colours you do see are what they really are? For examples: pink doesn't exist, measurably, except as a construct of our brains and the blue sky we see measures more towards the violet end. They are pigments of our imagination. We receive and interpret data in a the way that is most useful or the best compromise.

Edited March 31, 2017 by StringJunky

[Endy0816]

In certain cases this is possible without glasses.

 

https://phys.org/news/2014-12-human-eye-invisible-infrared.html

http://www.itworld.com/article/2732596/consumer-tech-science/real-world-superpowers--eye-surgery-lets-some-see-well-into-the-ultraviolet.html