ILLUMINATING FACTS ABOUT LIGHT AND VISION
Added on: 11th Jul 2016
CHERENKOV RADIATION IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A
PARTICLE TRAVELS THROUGH A MEDIUM (LIKE
WATER) FASTER THAN LIGHT WOULD. THIS
RADIATION GIVES OFF A BLUE GLOW THAT IS
CHARACTERISTIC OF UNDERWATER NUCLEAR
REACTORS
ALTHOUGH RESEARCHERS ARE NOT ENTIRELY
SURE WHY, WHEN SOME AREAS IN SCOTLAND
AND JAPAN CHANGED THEIR STREET LIGHTS
FROM YELLOW TO BLUE THEY SAW A
DECREASE IN CRIME AND SUICIDE
A JIFFY IS ACTUALLY A UNIT OF TIME (HOW LONG IT
TAKES LIGHT TO TRAVEL 1CM IN VACUUM)
BECAUSE OF A GENETIC QUIRK CALLED THE
PHOTIC SNEEZE REFLEX, ABOUT ONE THIRD OF THE
POPULATION WILL SNEEZE WHEN LOOKING AT THE SUN
BETELGEUS IS A STAR ROUGHLY 450 LIGHT YEARS
AWAY THAT WILL EXPLODE WITHIN THE NEXT
300,000 YEARS. WHEN IT DOES, IT WILL LIGHT UP
THE SKY EVEN BRIGHTER THAN THE MOON. IN FACT,
IT WILL BE VISIBLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY
SOME RESEARCHERS ARE TRYING TO CREATE
BIOLUMINESCENT TREES WITH THE SAME ENZYMES
FOUND IN JELLYFISH. THIS WOULD PROVIDE A
CLEAN SOURCE OF LIGHT FOR CITY STREETS AT NIGHT
IN 2001, LENE HAU, A PHYSICIST AT HARVARD,
MANAGED TO STOP A BEAM OF LIGHT IN ITS TRACKS
THE SAME PARTICLES THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE
FOR CREATING THE NORTHERN LIGHTS ALSO
CAUSE CLAPPING SOUNDS TO BE HEARD.
THESE SOUNDS HAVE LED TO NUMEROUS
FOLK TALES AND LEGENDS
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