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Article: Mantis shrimps could show us the way to a better DVD.
- Article from:
- NewsRx Health & Science
- Article date:
- November 15, 2009
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The remarkable eyes of a marine crustacean could inspire the next generation of DVD and CD players, according to a new study from the University of Bristol published in Nature Photonics.
The mantis shrimps in the study are found on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and have the most complex vision systems known to science. They can see in twelve colours (humans see in only three) and can distinguish between different forms of polarized light.
Special light-sensitive cells in mantis shrimp eyes act as quarter-wave plates - which can rotate the plane of the oscillations (the polarization) of a light wave as it travels through it. This capability makes it ...