Do i have the ability to see in ultraviolet?

  • Thread starter Thread starter skipper1
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Ultraviolet
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the ability to perceive ultraviolet (UV) light, particularly in relation to personal experiences with black lights and the effects of wearing glasses that provide UV protection. Participants explore the implications of these experiences and the potential for seeing in UV light, touching on aspects of vision sensitivity and optical properties.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes seeing a dark purple light with glasses on and a bright blue and purple light without them, questioning the implications for UV perception.
  • Another participant suggests that it is possible to see UV light under certain conditions, referencing individuals who have had their lenses removed and can perceive UV as white.
  • Some participants propose that the glasses may block part of the visible spectrum, affecting how light is perceived, but caution against claiming the ability to see in UV without further evidence.
  • There is a suggestion that the glasses might absorb near-UV light, which could explain the observed differences in light perception under black lights.
  • Several participants express confusion or frustration regarding the clarity of communication in the thread.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on whether the original poster can see in UV light. There are multiple competing views regarding the effects of glasses on light perception and the nature of UV visibility.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the lack of technical knowledge about the specific UV absorption characteristics of eyeglasses and the variability in individual sensitivity to light across the spectrum.

skipper1
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
ever since a few years ago when my and my sister both got black lights for our rooms [ i am myopic so i have to wear glasses] i have uv protection [non darkening] idk what it is but when i had my glasses on i saw the light a dark purple and the room would be darker and when i took my glasses off i saw the light bright light blue and purple and the room was easy to see in. anybody know what this means? also i heard girls see more colors so i think I am might be true ^u^
 
Last edited:
Science news on Phys.org
Skipper, I'm having a little trouble understanding you. Your grammar and sentence structure is poor. Could you please try to use a little more correct English when writing a post?

Anyways, I don't know if you see in UV, but the little I've read on it suggests it is possible. Supposedly people who have had their lens removed from their eye can sometimes see UV as white in color, meaning that it activates all 3 cones in their eye, which could explain you seeing a light blue instead of purple. However, I don't know nearly enough about optics to say for sure, so I wouldn't go around telling people you can see in UV just quite yet. It could be something else entirely that you and I don't know about.
 
It's entirely possible that your glasses block part of the spectrum range which is visible to you. I wouldn't call that seeing in UV, though. Everyone has effectively the same spectrum of sensitivity to light. It's just that the further the light gets into UV, the "dimmer" it appears. If you have more sensitive vision, it's possible that you still see the light that's too "dim" for someone else to see. But simply increasing brightness of the light would make it visible to the other person as well.
 
uh? so i know what is English not a ********.
 
skipper1 said:
uh? so i know what is English not a ********.

Sorry, I don't know what you are trying to say here.
 
Skipper1, your rambling is incoherent. You have no special powers.

Claude.
 
skipper1 said:
ever since a few years ago when my and my sister both got black lights for our rooms [ i am myopic so i have to wear glasses] i have uv protection [non darkening] idk what it is but when i had my glasses on i saw the light a dark purple and the room would be darker and when i took my glasses off i saw the light bright light blue and purple and the room was easy to see in. anybody know what this means? also i heard girls see more colors so i think I am might be true ^u^

Hi skipper. I have no technical knowledge of what constitutes a "typical" UV absorption spectrum for eyeglasses, but it could be possible that, in addition to being strongly absorbent to UV, your glasses are also weakly absorbent to near-UV (i.e. deep violet). As K^2 mentioned, the eye's sensitivity tapers off towards zero as the wavelength of light decreases towards UV--that is, as the colour of light goes from blue --> violet --> deep violet/near-UV, and finally to UV, which is invisible. When wearing your glasses in normal lighting conditions, you wouldn't notice that your glasses absorb a tiny bit of deep violet because your eye is only weakly sensitive to light in that wavelength band anyway. However, under a blacklight, deep violet is the only colour of light available, and you would easily notice if your glasses were absorbing some of it. Try this is a test: under the blacklight, give someone else your glasses to wear and ask them if they observe the same darkening effect that you do.
 
P.S. I apologise for the people who evidently got up on the wrong side of bed this morning.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
2K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 53 ·
2
Replies
53
Views
9K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
4K
Replies
15
Views
5K
  • · Replies 16 ·
Replies
16
Views
10K