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from the but-don't-look-into-the-light dept.
Night vision goggles do a great job of countering the human eye's poor ability to see in the dark, but the devices are usually bulky, requiring several layers of lenses and plenty of power. But thanks to research from the Australian National University (ANU), a new type of nanocrystal could grant night vision powers to a standard pair of specs, without adding any weight.
Darkness, as we perceive it, is the absence of light on the visible spectrum that our eyes can detect, but there's still plenty of light at other frequencies that we can't use. Night vision goggles make use of the near-infrared spectrum, and convert the photons from that light into electrons that light up a phosphor screen inside the device to create the image. But all that makes for a chunky, power-hungry device.
The ANU team's nanocrystal can be used to create night vision devices that forgo electricity completely, by converting incoming photons from infrared light into other photons on the visible spectrum, to allow the human eye to see in the dark.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @12:27PM
wear polarizing sun glasses. They cut down reflections to almost nothing.
or get a specialist to stick a sheet of polarizing thingie on your windshield.
something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Polarizing-Film-Sheet-Gadget-Electronics/dp/B004X3XFHU [amazon.com]
(Score: 2) by Webweasel on Thursday December 08 2016, @02:03PM
Well, sunglasses at night is a no go unless I'm in some bad Canadian band.
And unfortunately you can't have anything on your front windscreen except a sunstrip at the top in the UK, putting a sheet across the whole would be against the law.
Priyom.org Number stations, Russian Military radio. "You are a bad, bad man. Do you have any other virtues?"-Runaway1956
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 08 2016, @02:52PM
you could check if this is legal in the UK:
https://www.amazon.com/Eforstore-Automotive-Sunvisor-Anti-Glare-Driving/dp/B00IM9NLO8/ref=pd_day0_263_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=P5E36KMB5S7Z1EVAS1PK [amazon.com]
I don't drive, so I've never used one, but for this price I guess it wouldn't be a big deal if it turns out to be useless.
my stepfather bought one at some point, but I never asked if it helped (I live in a different country).