h a l f b a k e r yNot so much a thought experiment as a single neuron misfire.
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I have better sight in one eye than the other so when I am not
wearing my glasses I close the bad eye to be able to read. I just
noticed that, if I close the good eye, keep the bad eye open, and
turn my head in the direction of the bad eye, keep looking at the
screen, and view the text on the
screen through the apparent aura
around the curve of my nose, that the text becomes clear.
I am thinking that this must be because of some kind of lensing
effect, similar to the one that extra solar planet searchers use to
determine the content of the atmosphere of an extrasolar planet
as
it passes in front of a star.
So I ask myself, and this is where my lack of proper scientific
training really kicks into gear, "Why not just pass the equivalent of
a
bunch of extrasolar planets in front of your eyes to take advantage
of this lensing effect? You need a significantly curved surface like
your nose which is pretty big and you need a lot of them so you
can
see everywhere at once, so they should be moving so you can
cover a
lot of space so they should be really light so it doesn't take a lot of
energy to move them, and you want a lo-tech sustainable form of
energy to drive the movement. I know, how about a bunch of nose
sized ping-pong balls bouncing around inside a clear helmet or
diving
mask, kept moving by a bag pipe like bellows working either off
your
breath or off a pump driven by your movement.
I also remember that surfers use this lensing effect to see waves
far
off in the distance by squeezing a space between the pads of each
articulation of the index finger and using it as a lo-tech telescope.
I don't know what you call this effect. There may be something
much simpler out there that exploits this effect like maybe
polarized
glasses.
On second thought might change this to: "bagpipe-driven ping-
pong-ball helmet". It could be like a space helmet, and there
could be enough ping pong balls moving fast enough to effect your
vision, driven by the bellows, without it being so many and them
moving with enough force to annoy you to death.
Collimator
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collimator
Useful. [8th of 7, Mar 08 2014]
Knife-edge test
http://en.wikipedia...ult_knife-edge_test
one application [mitxela, Mar 08 2014]
Pinhole glasses
http://en.wikipedia...iki/Pinhole_glasses
Something much simpler out there that exploits this effect. [spidermother, Mar 08 2014]
Inuit Snow Goggles
http://en.wikipedia.../Inuit_snow_goggles
[JesusHChrist, Mar 11 2014]
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Annotation:
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You're using the bridge of your nose as something similar to a pinhole lens, I think - filtering out most of the incoming light so that what remains needs no focussing? |
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//I don't know what you call this effect. // |
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You've decreased your aperture and hence increased your depth of field. |
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One interesting use of a non-radial decrease in aperture is the knife-edge test, used for polishing aspherical mirrors. |
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Surely this just demonstrates the efficacy of replacing glasses with a pair of false noses on frames..... |
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<imagines the scene at the opticians>.."So, if the fourth line clearer with the Sarkosi or the Adrien Brody?" |
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Yes those are much simpler, but nowhere near as stupid as
my idea. |
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I'll see you that and raise you one - |
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" this is where my lack of proper scientific training really kicks into gear " |
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Cool tagline fodder aside, this is a great idea. I mean great like Abraham Lincoln, or the invention of beer. |
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