Light Toward The Center Of The Eye example essay topic

344 words
What Are Visual Defects and How Common Are They? by Nate Schackow 2nd Period December 17, 1996 The human eye does a lot more than allowing you to see. It is very complex and has many parts and features which can have defects. However, to understand defects you must first know how the eye works. First light passes through the cornea, which is the transparent part of the sclera, or white of the eye, which is composed of tough fibrous tissue. Behind the sclera is a watery fluid called the aqueous humor. This fluid fills a c resent-shaped space which with the cornea helps bend the light toward the center of the eye.

Under the aqueous humor is the iris which gives the eye color. The color of the iris has no effect on how you see and is inherited through genes. The iris controls how much light is allowed to enter your by opening up further when it is dark and closing up more to block out some light when it is bright. Everything that passes through the pupil, which looks like a black dot, is what you see. Next the light passes through the lens. The lens focuses the light rays onto the retina forming an image in reverse and upside-down.

Finally light-sensitive cells in the retina transmit the image via the optic nerve to the brain by electrical signals. Then the brain flips the image so it looks right-side-up to you. You can find a diagram of the above on page 3. The most common visual defects are nearsightedness and farsightedness.

In nearsightedness, also known as myopia, the eye is longer than usual. This is corrected by using a concave lens to spread the light rays just enough to increase the eye's focal length. Hyperopia, also known as farsightedness, is caused by a shorter than usual eye. A convex lens increases light bending and returns the point of focus to the retina.

Bibliography

Coon, Dennis, Introduction to Psychology, St. Paul, Minnesota, West Publishing Company, 1989, pp.
85-87. 'Eye,' Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia, 1994, 1995 Compton's New Media, Inc.
Pierenne, M.H., Vision and the Eye, London, England, Chapman and Hall Ltd., 1967, pp.