> "Our technology is able to transform infrared light, normally invisible to the human eye, and turn this into images people can clearly see—even at distance.
> "We've made a very thin film, consisting of nanometre-scale crystals, hundreds of times thinner than a human hair, that can be directly applied to glasses and acts as a filter, allowing you to see in the darkness of the night."
Re:ANU breakthrough lets people see in the dark without nigh...
by bsder on Wednesday June 16, 2021 @09:16PM
(#27535285)
If it's a filter, how does this help? The problem is that we don't have enough light to activate the receptors not that we have too much light interfering.
I was hoping to see some sort of atomic-scale structure that shifted the frequencies of a tiny amount of infrared light just enough for our visual system to pick it up.
Re:ANU breakthrough lets people see in the dark without nigh...
by eloff on Wednesday June 16, 2021 @09:19PM
(#27535303)
> I was hoping to see some sort of atomic-scale structure that shifted the frequencies of a tiny amount of infrared light just enough for our visual system to pick it up.
That's almost what it says it does. I think you took the word filter too literally.
> "Our technology is able to transform infrared light, normally invisible to the human eye, and turn this into images people can clearly see—even at distance.
It sounds like it might display the image on a thin screen rather than shift the light into the visible spectrum, but it was light on details.
Re:ANU breakthrough lets people see in the dark without nigh...
by Vecr on Wednesday June 16, 2021 @10:02PM
(#27535507)
This can't be anywhere close to a PVS-31 though, can it? I assume there's no photo-multiplication, so it might just be a very compact and low profile Gen1 system.
Better article: https://phys.org/news/2021-06-thin-film-tech-revolutionize-n...
> "Our technology is able to transform infrared light, normally invisible to the human eye, and turn this into images people can clearly see—even at distance.
> "We've made a very thin film, consisting of nanometre-scale crystals, hundreds of times thinner than a human hair, that can be directly applied to glasses and acts as a filter, allowing you to see in the darkness of the night."
I was hoping to see some sort of atomic-scale structure that shifted the frequencies of a tiny amount of infrared light just enough for our visual system to pick it up.
That's almost what it says it does. I think you took the word filter too literally.
> "Our technology is able to transform infrared light, normally invisible to the human eye, and turn this into images people can clearly see—even at distance.
It sounds like it might display the image on a thin screen rather than shift the light into the visible spectrum, but it was light on details.
That's an amazing sci fi dream becoming reality.