People Emit Visible Light

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Posted by timothy on Thursday July 23, 2009 @07:10AM from the lots-of-girls-I-know-glow-visibly dept.

An Anonymous Reader writes "The human body literally glows, emitting a visible light in extremely small quantities at levels that rise and fall with the day, scientists now reveal. Japanese researchers have shown that the body emits visible light, 1,000 times less intense than the levels to which our naked eyes are sensitive. In fact, virtually all living creatures emit very weak light, which is thought to be a byproduct of biochemical reactions involving free radicals."

2 of 347 comments (clear)

Re:1,000 times too faint to see? by clone53421 · 2009-07-23 08:18 · Score: 0, Troll

Whatever researchers may use it to mean, the majority of people will probably be inclined to use the dictionary definition, and the most common one, if you don't clarify:

1 a: capable of being seen <stars visible to the naked eye> b: situated in the region of the electromagnetic spectrum perceptible to human vision <visible light>

So basically, if you mean "light in the visible spectrum", just say that. "Visible light" will be interpreted by most people according to the 1a definition of "visible", not the 1b definition. It comes first because it's common...

--
Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
Re:Biblical? by mysidia · 2009-07-23 12:42 · Score: 0, Troll

It's not more logical. It's just more numerical (and less accurate). Using a numerical comparison to classify something doesn't magically make that classification more accurate, especially when referring to a qualitative attribute such as visibility; what's visible to one person may not be visible to another.
Numerical classifications only assist repeatability and assist scientists in comparing and relating their observations.
The 380-750nm range is considered the wavelength range of visible light, only because that's been the ranged observed to be perceptible to the human eye.
Just because EM is in that range does not mean it is visible light. If the intensity is too low to be seen, then it isn't visible.
It would be accurate to say people emit some light within the wavelength range that is normally visible.
It would be inaccurate to say people emit visible light.
The observations do not support that claim.
To support that claim, we need a case of a person perceiving that light emited by a person, with that observation taken using the unaided eye.