See also:

• VISION (from Lat. videre, to see), or SIGHT

VISION (from See also:

• LAT

Lat. videre, to see), or SIGHT  , the See also:

• FUNCTION

function, in See also:

• PHYSIOLOGY (from Gr. 4 i s, nature, and koyos, discourse)

physiology, of the See also:

• ORGAN

organ known as the See also:

• EYE
• EYE (O. Eng. edge, Ger. Auge; derived from an Indo-European root also seen in Lat. oc-ulus, the organ of vision (q.v.)

eye (q.v.) . The sense of See also:

• VISION (from Lat. videre, to see), or SIGHT

vision is excited by the See also:

• INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence of See also:

• LIGHT

light on the retina, the See also:

• SPECIAL

special terminal organ connected with the optic See also:

• NERVE (Lat. nervus, Gr. vevpov, a bowstring)

nerve . By excitation of the retina, a See also:

• CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)

change is induced in the optic nerve See also:

• FIBRES
• FIBRES (or FIBERS, in American spelling; from Lat. fibra, apparently connected either with filum, thread, or findere, to split)

fibres, and is conveyed by these to the See also:

• BRAIN (A.S. braegen)

brain, the result being a luminous See also:

• PERCEPTION (from Lat. percipere, to perceive)

perception, or what we See also:

• CALL (from Anglo-Saxon ceallian, a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch kallen, to talk or chatter)

call a sensation of light or See also:

• COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour . If light were to See also:

• ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act uniformly over the retina, there would be no See also:

• IMAGE (Lat. imago, perhaps from the same root as imitari, copy, imitate)

image of the source of the light formed on that structure, and consequently there would be only a See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general consciousness of light, without reference to any particular See also:

• OBJECT

object . One of the first conditions, therefore, of vision for useful purposes is the formation of an image on the retina . To effect this, just as in a photographic See also:

• CAMERA (a Latin adaptation of Gr. Kagapa, an arched chamber)

camera, refractive structures must be placed in front of the retina which will so See also:

• BEND

bend luminous rays as to bring them to a See also:

• FOCUS (Latin for " hearth " or " fireplace ")

focus on the retina, and thus produce an image . Throughout the See also:

• ANIMAL
• ANIMAL (Lat. animalis, from anima, breath, soul)

animal See also:

• KINGDOM

kingdom various arrangements are found for this purpose; but they may be all referred to three types, namely—(1) eye-specks or eye-dots, met with in Medusae, Annelidae, &c.; (2) the See also:

• COMPOUND
• COMPOUND (from Lat. componere, to combine or put together)

compound eye, as found in See also:

• INSECTS

insects and crustaceans; and (3) the See also:

• SIMPLE

simple eye, See also:

• COMMON

common to all vertebrates . The eye-specks may be regarded simply as expansions of optic nerve filaments, covered by a transparent membrane, but having no refractive See also:

• MEDIA

media, so that the creature would have the consciousness of light only, or a simple luminous impression, by which it might distinguish light from darkness . The compound eye consists essentially of a See also:

• SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of transparent See also:

• CONE (Gr. Kwvos)

cone-like bodies, arranged in a radiate manner against the inner See also:

• SURFACE

surface of the cornea, with which their bases are See also:

• UNITED

united, while their apices are connected with the ends of the optic filaments . As each cone is separated from its neighbours, it admits only a See also:

• RAY (Lat. raia)
• RAY (or WRAY, as he wrote his name till 1670), JOHN (1628-1705)

ray of light parallel with its See also:

• AXIS (Lat. for " axle ")

axis, and its See also:

• APEX

apex represents only a portion of the image, which must be made up, like a See also:

• MOSAIC (corresponding to Lat. opus musivum, from Gr. µovoeiov, an artificial grotto often decorated with mosaics; the word is only found in the sense of mosaic in late Greek, which generally uses k oXI yrlµa)

mosaic-See also:

• WORK

work, of as many parts as there are cones in the eye . When the cones are of considerable length, it is evident, from their See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form and direction, their apices being directed in-wards, that the oblique rays emanating from a luminous surface will be cut off, and that only those rays proceeding along the axis of the cone will produce an effect . Thus distinctness or sharpness of See also:

• DEFINITION (Lat. definitio, from de-finire, to set limits to, describe)

definition will be secured .

The See also:

• SIZE

size of the visual See also:

• FIELD (a word common to many West German languages, cf. Ger. Feld, Dutch veld, possibly cognate with O.E. f olde, the earth, and ultimately with root of the Gr. irAaror, broad)
• FIELD, CYRUS WEST (1819-1892)
• FIELD, DAVID DUDLEY (18o5-1894)
• FIELD, EUGENE (1850-1895)
• FIELD, FREDERICK (18o1—1885)
• FIELD, HENRY MARTYN (1822-1907)
• FIELD, JOHN (1782—1837)
• FIELD, MARSHALL (183 1906)
• FIELD, NATHAN (1587—1633)
• FIELD, STEPHEN JOHNSON (1816-1899)
• FIELD, WILLIAM VENTRIS FIELD, BARON (1813-1907)

field will depend on the form of the eye, the outermost cones marking its limits . Consequently the size of the visual field will depend on the size of the segment of the See also:

• SPHERE (Gr. vclsa?pa, a ball or globe)

sphere forming its surface . The eyes of many insects have a field of about See also:

• HALF

half a sphere, so that the creature will see See also:

• OBJECTS

objects before and behind it as well as those at the See also:

• SIDE
• SIDE (mod. Eski Adalia)

side . On the other See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand, in many the eyes have scarcely any convexity, so that they must have a narrow field of vision . For anatomical details, and diseases of the eye, see EYE; the pathological aspects of vision itself are treated at the end of this See also:

• ARTICLE (from Lat. articulus, a joint)

article . I . See also:

• PHYSICAL

PHYSICAL CAUSES OP VISION A luminous sensation may be excited by various modes of irritation of the retina or of the optic nerve . Pressure, cutting or See also:

• ELECTRICAL
• ELECTRICAL (or ELECTROSTATIC) MACHINE

electrical shocks may act as stimuli, but the normal excitation is the influence of light on the retina . From a physical point of view, light is a mode of See also:

• MOVEMENT

movement occurring in a See also:

• MEDIUM

medium, termed the See also:

• AETHER, or ETHER (Gr. deli p, probably from caeca, I burn, though Plato in his Cratylus (410 B)

aether, which pervades all space; but the physiologist studies the operation of these movements on the sentient organism as resulting in consciousness of the particular See also:

• KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind which we See also:

• TERM

term a luminous impression . Outside of the See also:

• BODY

body, such movements have been studied with See also:

• GREAT

great accuracy; but the physiological effects depend upon such complex conditions as to make it impossible to See also:

• STATE
• STATE, GREAT OFFICERS OF

state them in the same precise way . Thus, when we look at the spectrum, we are conscious of the sensations of red and See also:

• VIOLET

violet, referable to its two extremities: the physicist states that red is produced by 392 billions of impulses on the retina per second, and that violet corresponds to 757 billions per second; but he has arrived at this See also:

• INFORMATION (from Lat. informare, to give shape or form to, to represent, describe)

information by inductive reasoning from facts which have not at See also:

• PRESENT

present any physiological explanation . We cannot at present trace any connexion, as cause and effect, between 392 billions of impulses on the retina per second and a sensation of red .

Below the red and above the violet ends of the spectrum there are vibrations which do not excite luminous sensations . In the first See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case, below the red, the effect as a sensation is See also:

• HEAT (0. E. haktu, which like " hot," Old Eng. hat, is from the Teutonic type haita, hit, to be hot; cf. Ger. hitze, heiss; Dutch, hitte, heet, &c.)

heat; and above the violet the result is that of chemical activity . Thus the method of See also:

• DISPERSION
• DISPERSION (from Lat. dispergere, to scatter)

dispersion of light, as is followed in passing a ray through a See also:

• PRISM (Gr. rrpivµa, properly a thing sawn, Irpii"ety, to saw)

prism, enables us to recognize these general facts: (I) rays below the red excite thermal impressions; (2) from the See also:

• LOWER

lower red up to the See also:

• MIDDLE

middle of the violet, the thermal rays become gradually weaker until they have no effect; (3) from the lower red to the extreme violet, they cause luminous impressions, which reach their greatest intensity in the yellow; and (4) from about the end of the yellow to far beyond the extreme violet, the rays have gradually a less and less luminous effect, but they have the See also:

• POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power of exciting such chemical changes as are produced in See also:

• PHOTOGRAPHY (Gr. bias, light, and ypa w, to write)
• PHOTOGRAPHY, CELESTIAL

photography . In general terms, therefore, the lower end of the spectrum may be called thermal, the middle luminous, and the upper actinic or chemical; but the three See also:

• MERGE

merge into and overlap one another . It may be observed that the -number of vibrations in the extreme violet is not See also:

• DOUBLE
• DOUBLE (from the Mid. Eng. duble, the form which gives the present pronunciation, through the Old Er. duble, from Lat. duplus, twice as much)

double that of the See also:

• LOW, SETH (1850- )
• LOW, WILL HICOK (1853- )

low red, so that the sensibility of the eye to vibrations of light does not range through an See also:

• OCTAVE (from Lat. octavus, eighth, octo, eight)

octave . The ultra-violet rays may act on the retina in certain conditions, as when they are reflected by a See also:

• SOLUTION (from Lat. solvere, to loosen, dissolve)

solution of sulphate of See also:

• QUININE

quinine, constituting the phenomenon of See also:

• FLUORESCENCE

fluorescence . Far above the violet are the Rdntgen radiations and probably others . 2 . See also:

• OPTICAL

OPTICAL ARRnr1GEMENTh 01+ THE EYE r . General.—When light traverses any homogeneous trans-See also:

• PARENT, SIMON NAPOLEON (1855– )

parent medium, such as the See also:

• AIR (from an Indo-European root meaning " breathe," " blow ")
• AIR, or ASBEN

air, it passes on in a straight course with a certain velocity; but if it meet with any other trans-parent body of a different See also:

• DENSITY (Lat. densus, thick)

density, See also:

• PART

part of it is reflected or returned to the first medium, whilst the See also:

• REMAINDER, REVERSION

remainder is propagated through the second medium in a different direction and with a different velocity . Thus we may See also:

• ACCOUNT
• ACCOUNT (through O. Fr. acont, Late Lat. comptum, cornputare, to calculate)

account for the phenomena of reflection of light (q.v.) and of See also:

• REFRACTION
• REFRACTION (Lat. refringere, to break open or apart)

refraction (q.v.) . Let ab, in fig .

1, be a See also:

• PLANE

plane surface of some trans- parent substance, say a See also:

• SHEET

sheet of See also:

• GLASS
• GLASS (O.E. glees, cf. Ger. Glas, perhaps derived from an old Teutonic root gla-, a variant of glo-, having the general sense of shining, cf. " glare," " glow ")
• GLASS, STAINED

glass; a ray, cd, perpendicular to the surface, will pass through without refraction; but an oblique ray, ef, will be sent in the direction eh . If the ray eh had passed from a dense into a rarer medium, then the direction d , j f would have been eg . It might also be shown that the sine of the See also:

• ANGLE (from the Lat. angulus, a corner, a diminutive, of which the primitive form, angus, does not occur in Latin; cognate are the Lat. angere, to compress into a bend or to strangle, and the Gr. ayKOS, a bend; both connected with the Aryan root ank-, to

angle of incidence always bears a certain ratio to the sine of the angle of refraction; this ratio is termed the See also:

• INDEX

index of refraction . Thus, if a ray pass from air into See also:

• WATER

water, the sine of the angle of incidence will have to the sine of the angle of the refraction the ratio of 4:3, or Before a ray of light can reach the retina, it must pass through a number of transparent and refractive surfaces . The eye is a nearly spherical organ, formed of transparent parts situated behind each other, and surrounded by various membranous structures, the anterior part of which is also transparent . The transparent parts are—(r) the cornea; (2) the aqueous See also:

• HUMOUR (Latin humor)

humour, found in the anterior chamber of the eye; (3) the crystalline See also:

• LENS
• LENS (from Lat. lens, lentil, on account of the similarity of the form of a lens to that of a lentil seed)

lens, formed by a transparent See also:

• CONVEX

convex body, the anterior surface of which is less convex than the posterior; and (4) the vitreous humour, filling the posterior chamber of the eye . The ray must therefore See also:

• TRAVERSE

traverse the cornea, aqueous humour, lens and vitreous humour . As the two surfaces of the cornea are parallel, the rays practically suffer no deviation in passing through that structure, but they are See also:

• BENT
• BENT (E1. BENI)
• BENT, JAMES THEODORE (1852–1897)

bent or refracted during their transmission. through the other media . From the optical point of view, the eye may be regarded as a dioptric See also:

• SYSTEM

system consisting of various refractive media . In such a system, as shown by K . F . See also:

• GAUSS, KARL FRIEDRICH (1777-1855)

Gauss, there are six See also:

• CARDINAL (Lat. cardinalis)

cardinal points, which have a certain relation to each other .

These are (I) Two See also:

• FOCAL

focal points: every ray passing through the first focal point becomes, after its refraction, parallel to the axis, and every ray which before refraction is parallel to the axis passes after its refraction to the second focal point; (2) two See also:

• PRINCIPAL

principal points: every ray which passes through the first point before refraction passes after refraction through the second, and every ray which passes through any point of a plane elevated on a perpendicular axis from the first principal point (the first principal plane) passes through the corresponding point of an analogous plane raised upon the axis at the second principal point (the second principal plane) ; and (3) two nodal points, which correspond to the optical centres of the two principal planes just alluded to . The distance of the first principal point from the first focal point is called the anterior focal length, and the term posterior focal length is applied to the distance of the posterior focal point from the second principal point . Listing has given the following measurements in millimetres from the centre of the cornea for the cardinal points in an ideal eye:— _ Anterior focal point . 12.8326 First nodal point . 7.24.20 Posterior focal point . 22.6470 Second nodal point . 7.6398 First principal point . 2.1746 Anterior focal length . 15.0072 Second principal point . 2.5724 Posterior focal length . 20.0746 A view of such an ideal eye is shown in fig . 2 .

The remaining measurements of such an eye are as follows:-- Radii of Curvature Of anterior See also:

• FACE (from Lat. fades, derived either from facere, to make, or from a root fa-, meaning " appear "; cf. Gr. cbatvstv)

face of cornea = 8 millimetres . Of anterior face of lens =10 Of posterior face of lens = 6 Indices of Refraction Aqueous humour =1.3379 Crystalline lens =1.4545 Vitreous humour . W =1.3379 e 4 c The optical constants of the human eye may be still further on the See also:

• PUPIL (Lat. pupillus, orphan, minor, dim. of pupus, boy, allied to puer, from root pm- or peu-, to beget, cf. "pupa," Lat. for " doll," the name given to the stage intervening between the larval and imaginal stages in certain insects)

pupil . Thus it may be circular, or See also:

• OVAL (Lat. ovum, egg)

oval, or even trisimplified by assuming that .he two principal points and the two angular . If the See also:

• PENCIL (Lat. penicillus, brush, literally little tail)

pencil is focused in front of the retina, as at A Yt . . A, See also:

• SUMMIT

summit of cornea; SC, sclerotic; S, Schlemm's See also:

• CANAL
• CANAL (from Lat. canalis, " channel " and " kennel " being doublets of the word)

canal; CH, choroid; I, See also:

• IRIS

iris; M, ciliary muscle; R, retina; N, optic nerve; HA, aqueous humour; L, crystalline lens, the anterior of the double lines on its face showing its form during See also:

• ACCOMMODATION (Lat. accommodare, to make fit, from ad, to, cum, with, and modus, measure)

accommodation; HV, vitreous humour; DN, See also:

• INTERNAL

internal rectus muscle; DE, See also:

• EXTERNAL

external rectus; YY', principal optical axis;, visual axis, making an angle of 5° with the optical axis; C, centre of the ocular globe . The cardinal points of Listing: H1H2, principal points; K1K2, nodal points; F1Fx, principal focal points . The dioptric constants according to Gtraud-Teulon: H, principal points united; 4042, principal foci during the repose of accommodation; principal foci during the maximum of accommodation; 0, fused nodal points . nodal points respectively are identical . Thus we may construct a reduced eye, in which the principal point is 2.3448 mm. behind the cornea and the single nodal point is 1.4764 mm. in front of the posterior surface of the lens . The refracting surface, or lens, has a See also:

• RADIUS

radius of 5 mm and is 3 mm. behind the cornea; and the index of refraction is that of the aqueous humour, or Vag, or 1.3379 . 2 .

The Formation of an Image on the Retina.—This may be well illustrated with the aid of a photographic camera . If properly focused, an inverted image will be seen on the glass See also:

• PLATE

plate at the back of the camera . It may also be observed by bringing the eyeball of a See also:

• RABBIT

rabbit near a See also:

• CANDLE (Lat. candela, from candere, to glow)

candle See also:

• FLAME (Lat. flamma; the root flag- appears in flagrare, to burn, blaze, and Gr. d, XEryew)

flame . The See also:

• ACTION

action of a lens in forming an inverted image is illustrated by fig . 3, where the pencil of rays proceeding from a is brought to a focus at a', and those from b at b'; consequently the image of ab is inverted as at b'a' . The three characteristic features of the retinal image are: (r) it is reversed; (2) it is See also:

• SHARP, GRANVILLE (1735-1813)
• SHARP, JAMES (1618-1679)
• SHARP, JOHN (1645-1714)
• SHARP, RICHARD (1759-1835)
• SHARP, WILLIAM (1749-1824)
• SHARP, WILLIAM (1856-1905)

sharp and well defined if it be accurately focused on the retina; and (3) its size depends on the visual angle . If we look at a distant object, say a See also:

• STAR

star, the rays reaching the eye are parallel, and in passing through the refractive media they are focused at the posterior focal point—that is, on, the retina . A See also:

• LINE

line from the luminous point on the retina passing through the nodal point is called the line of direction . If the luminous object be not nearer than, say, 6o yds. the image is still brought to a focus on the retina without any effort on the part of the eye . Within this distance, supposing the See also:

• CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

condition of the eye to be the same as in looking at a star, the image would be formed somewhat behind the posterior focal point, and the effect would be an indistinct impression on the retina . To obviate this, for near distances, accommodation, so as to adapt the eye, is _effected by a mechanism to be afterwards described . When rays, reflected from an object or coming from a luminous point, are not brought to an accurate focus on the retina, the image is not distinct in consequence of the formation of circles of See also:

• DIFFUSION (from the Lat. diffundere; dis-, asunder, and fundere, to pour out)

diffusion, the See also:

• PRODUCTION (Lat. productionem, from producere, to pro-duce)

production of which will be rendered evident by fig .

4 . From the point A luminous rays enter the eye in the form of a cone, the kind of which will depend d, or behind it as at f, or, in other words, if the retina, in See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place of being at F, be in the positions G or H, there will be a luminous circle or a luminous triangular space, and many elements of the retina will be affected . The size of these diffusion circles depends on the distance from the retina of the point where the rays are focused: the greater the distance, the more extended will be the diffusion circle . Its size will also be affected by the greater or less See also:

• DIAMETER (from the Cr. &a, through, µErpov, measure)

diameter of the pupil . Circles of diffusion may be studied by the following experiment, called the experiment of Scheiner: Let C be a lens, and DEF be screens placed behind it . Hold in front of the lens a card perforated by two holes A and B, and allow rays from a luminous point a to pass through these holes . The From o on the See also:

• SCREEN (usually, but very doubtfully, connected with Lat. scrinium, a box for holding books, from scribere, to write; a connexion with Ger. Schranke, barrier, has been suggested)

screen E will be the focus of the rays emanating from a; if a were removed farther from the lens, the focus would be on F, and if it were brought near to C, the focus would then be on D . The screens F and D show two images on the point a . If, then, we See also:

• CLOSE
• CLOSE (from Lat. clausum, shut)
• CLOSE, MAXWELL HENRY (1822-1903)

close the upper opening in AB, the upper image in on F and the lower image n on D disappear . Suppose now that the retina be substituted for the screens D and F, the contrary will take place, in consequence of the reversal of the retinal image . If the eye be placed at a, only one image will be seen; but if it be placed either In the plane of F or D, then two images will be seen, as at mm, or nn; consequently, in either of these planes there will be circles of diffusion and indistinctness, and only in the plane E will there. be sharp definition of the image . To understand the formation of an image on the retina, suppose a line See also:

• DRAWN

drawn from each of its two extremities to the nodal point and continued onwards to the retina, as in fig .

6, where the visual angle is x . It is evident that its size will depend on the size of the object and the distance of the object from the eye . Thus, also, objects of different sizes, c, d, e in fig . 6, may be in- B. cluded in the same visual angle, as they are at different distances from the eye . The size of the retinal image may be calculated if we know the size of the object, its distance from the nodal point o, and the distance of the nodal ~6 point from the posterior focus . FIG . 6.-d he Visual Angle . Let A be the size of the object, B its distance from the nodal point, and C the distance of o from the retina, or 15 mm.; then the size of the retinal image x= (A± 15)/B . The smallest visual angle in which two distinct points may be observed is 6o seconds; below this, the two sensations fuse into one; and the size of the retinal image s 3 . The Optical Defects of the Eye.—As an optical See also:

• INSTRUMENT (Lat. instrumentum, from insincere, to build up, furnish, arrange, prepare)

instrument, the eye is defective; but from See also:

• HABIT (through the French from Lat. habitus, from habere, to have, hold, or, in a reflective sense, to be in a certain condition; in many of the English senses the French use habitude, not habit)

habit, and want of See also:

• ATTENTION (from Lat. ad-tendo, await, expect; the condition of being " stretched " or " tense ")

attention, its defects are not appreciated, and consequently they have little or no influence on our sensations . These defects are chiefly of two kinds—(r) those due to the curvature of the refractive surfaces, and (2) those due to the dispersion of light by the refractive media .