Naked Science Forum

On the Lighter Side => New Theories => Topic started by: Voxx on 21/04/2012 18:31:24

Title: Seeing Through Magnetic, Electromagnetic and Electronic Spectrum's
Post by: Voxx on 21/04/2012 18:31:24
I know this sounds a bit strange, but i would like to know what peoples thoughts on the subject were.

If we human's were able to see through magnetic, electromagnetic and electronic spectrum's how do you think the world would appear?

Which would be the most powerful vision and which would work best in which environment.

If we could see the electron activity in objects what would it appear like?  What got me thinking was the movie "The Darkest Hour"

What is your thoughts on seeing through magnetic fields or electromagnetic?

And if not Sight what about sensing?  Like some fish do in water (electric eels or sharks) what do you think you could sense and you could not?  What would be the weaknesses and strengths of such an ability?
Title: Re: Seeing Through Magnetic, Electromagnetic and Electronic Spectrum's
Post by: CliffordK on 22/04/2012 06:41:35
We already see part of the EM spectrum.  Thus, of course, the part which is visible to us is quite useful.

Extending the view to IR might be useful, especially for navigating in the dark, or nocturnal hunting (which is less important for modern humans).

However, if you consider materials analysis, IR has been useful to identify materials that appear similar under visible light.  So, being able to view IR (or UV), one would see additional colors, and be able to discern differences between materials that appear clear or white under the visible spectrum, especially if we had a larger variety of cones.  A half dozen or more?  Then it would give much finer resolution of colors.  Many women may in fact be Tetrachromes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrachromacy#Possibility_of_human_tetrachromats) (in the visible spectrum), leaving us men in the more bland trichromat world.

As far as seeing electrons, I suppose it depends on what you mean.  In a sense, we see the electron shells of the elements, and how these shells interact with other energy forms, absorbing, transmitting, or reflecting photons.  Beta radiation is a type of free electrons, however, they only travel for a very short distance, perhaps a couple of cm in air, much less in other substances such as water.  Thus, free electrons would not be visible, except in the manner they interact with other particles.  Electron beams strong enough to break down air would be quite dangerous, and of course, we see the effects of the electron beams in air as it is.

Directly viewing magnetic fields would be interesting.  It would be much more difficult to get lost with a built-in compass.  With viewing magnetic fields, one might view the movement of electric current, especially DC current.  However, while EM has both wavelength and intensity, I believe that magnetic fields would only have intensity, and thus would be largely monochromatic, so they might not be very interesting at all.  One might merely have essentially a single 3-D compass + intensity.  Nonetheless, if it could be viewed at a distance, it would be quite interesting.
Title: Re: Seeing Through Magnetic, Electromagnetic and Electronic Spectrum's
Post by: Voxx on 27/04/2012 05:51:04
Thank's for the thoughts,  I'm wondering how the "Aliens" were able to see the electronic activity within living beings?  Could it do with the electronic field they seemed to have?  I'm just trying to get a better "scientific" point of view from it.

The  main purpose of this post is for me to gain a better understanding of a character i'm writing about in a book.

I've created a character (Esper), which has Electrokinesis and Magnokinesis.  She can manipulate, enhance, and control; magnetic, electromagnetic fields, and electrons.  If she was able to sense or see through these fields, what would she be able to see, what could she defend against, would glass be an absorbent and reduce her vision or senses like a wall to us?

Espers in my book also have a sort of field that is kind of attributed to their ability.  For this Esper in question a natural electromagnetic field, which she can strengthen or reduce at will.  She however can not completely erase it.

Tell me what you think and what you find holes in, thanks.
Title: Re: Seeing Through Magnetic, Electromagnetic and Electronic Spectrum's
Post by: yor_on on 01/05/2012 17:47:48
Well a EM field is a magnetic field, depending on what frame of reference you use, in relativity. But sure, you can split them if you like and so create two possibility's for her. I don't really know what she would see? I would guess that she would 'feel' magnetism more than see it, but radiation is radiation, and presumably must have 'colors' as it come in different frequencies. Wasn't there some guys that could see IR? due to defective protection in the eye, or am I remembering wrong here? And depending on the frequency's you might be able to expect gamma radiation to be a very intense whitish ? color of some sort, while the lower frequencies might express themselves as darker.
Title: Re: Seeing Through Magnetic, Electromagnetic and Electronic Spectrum's
Post by: yor_on on 01/05/2012 18:06:58
But I'm not sure and this is depending on from where we would define a 'normal eye sight' as ours, as different animals will have different definitions there, as a guess. And choosing some low frequency as your normal? What would that make others above that for you? It's the brain that defines what it see, the eyes are only receptors of energy quanta, or frequencies in a wave definition.
Title: Re: Seeing Through Magnetic, Electromagnetic and Electronic Spectrum's
Post by: Voxx on 06/05/2012 18:16:57
But I'm not sure and this is depending on from where we would define a 'normal eye sight' as ours, as different animals will have different definitions there, as a guess. And choosing some low frequency as your normal? What would that make others above that for you? It's the brain that defines what it see, the eyes are only receptors of energy quanta, or frequencies in a wave definition.

So...  If one's brain was able to manipulate and tune in and out these different frequencies, theoretically you could see in say UV, IR or x-ray's.

It wouldn't be a stretch, would it?