The Wet Look
Computer monitors give us eye-popping displays in which the light areas look as much as 800 times lighter than the dark ones. But these images are born inside a computer; a cam-era gazing at a scene cannot capture contrast anywhere near that high. The reason: Light reflecting off the air-glass surfaces produces “lens flare.” As a result, whites don’t look as white as they do in reality; blacks don’t look as black.
Physicist Edward F. Kelley of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Md., has come up with a novel way to rectify this shortcoming-by emulating Mother Nature. Our eyes don’t suffer from lens flare, Kelley says, because they are liquid-filled. His logical solution: inject oil into the space between a camera’s lens and the sensors that convert the image into an electronic signal. In preliminary work, addition of liquid to a camera hiked contrast-capturing capability seventyfold. While a consumer-grade eye-ball camera is possible, the technology will probably appear first in scientific instruments that need to detect contrast with high precision.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
This new data poisoning tool lets artists fight back against generative AI
The tool, called Nightshade, messes up training data in ways that could cause serious damage to image-generating AI models.
Rogue superintelligence and merging with machines: Inside the mind of OpenAI’s chief scientist
An exclusive conversation with Ilya Sutskever on his fears for the future of AI and why they’ve made him change the focus of his life’s work.
Data analytics reveal real business value
Sophisticated analytics tools mine insights from data, optimizing operational processes across the enterprise.
The Biggest Questions: What is death?
New neuroscience is challenging our understanding of the dying process—bringing opportunities for the living.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.