Listening to Light

Human eyes have a persistence of .02 seconds, meaning any light operating at 50Hz or above is perceived to be continuously on. The ear, however, is much better at detecting changes in frequency than the eye by discerning frequencies from about 50Hz to around 18 KHz. Therefore, many forms of light that can and cannot be discerned by the human eye, such as infrared or ultraviolet, can be heard by the human ear with the aid of an electronic circuit.

Normally, only people with Synaesthesia are capable of multi-modal sensory input from a single sense source. Utilizing this electronic circuit allows regular people to expand their sensory horizons, too. A similar technology was developed for the military to allow divers to ‘see’ in murky water by transfering the information from optical or SONAR sensors into sensations on the human tongue. Called the ‘Brain Port,’ even completely blind individuals were able to navigate a room, identify people in front of them and catch tossed objects.