Abstract
THE experiments described by Colonel Herschel in NATURE of January 18 illustrate the reflecting power of animals' eyes, and give no support to the general view that the eyes of cats and dogs “shine in the dark”, that is, in the absence of any external source of luminosity. The principle of the experiments is illustrated by the Reflex Lamp commonly fixed at the back of the frame of a bicycle in rural districts. This is not really a lamp, but a bull's-eye of ruby glass about 2 inches in diameter, fixed with the convex surface directed behind the bicycle. When a carriage or motor is approaching the bicycle from behind, its lamps illuminate the bull's-eye, and the reflection is so clear that the driver knows a cyclist is in front of him long before the rider or the machine can be seen. The candle-light used in ordinary carriage lamps enables the Reflex Lamp to be visible at a distance of a hundred yards or so on a dark night. The conditions are precisely similar to those described by Colonel Herschel, the only difference being that a glass convex lens takes the place of the animals' eyes.
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G., R. Are Eyes ever Autophanous?. Nature 88, 447 (1912). https://doi.org/10.1038/088447b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/088447b0
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