Rods and Cones: Your Keys to Better Night Vision

By Brent Wheat

Of the five senses, eyesight is the most important during a violent interpersonal crisis. Your eyes are necessary to locate and evaluate a threat, maneuver within the environment, use cover to advantage and effectively target with your weapon. Your sight is so important yet it has a serious shortfall: it doesn’t work well at night when the majority of violent confrontations occur.

Though our eyes aren’t as efficient during low light as a cat or raccoon, there are things you can do to maximize the capabilities that exist. First, we need to understand the physiological facts of your eyes.

The light-sensitive layer of cells at the back of the eyeball is called the retina, the equivalent of the film in a camera. This layer is comprised of two types of cells: rods and cones. The cones require a large amount light to operate and are functional during daylight but are almost useless at night.

The rod cells serve the opposite function. They incorporate Rhodopsin, sometimes called “visual purple,” a light-sensitive protein that activates the rod cells and allows you to see at night.

Rod (night) vision is not as effective as cone (daylight) vision and only allows you to distinguish black, white, shades of …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms