EXPLAINER
THE EXPLAINER THE EYE
UNDERSTAND HOW OUR VISUAL SYSTEM WORKS
It’s all in the eyes
Containing more than 100 million light-sensitive cells and some of the fastest muscles in our bodies, our eyes are capable of picking up everything from starlight beaming across the galaxy to the full gamut of human emotion. But it’s in their coupling with our minds – through the approximately one million nerve fibres connecting each eye to our brains – that we gain the ability to synthesise slick visuals and interpret what’s going on around us without getting distracted or overwhelmed.
What’s inside my eye?
1. PUPIL
It looks like a black dot but it’s actually a gap that lets light pass through to the back of your eye.
2. CORNEA
A transparent dome at the front of your eye, the cornea refracts light, helping to direct it along the right path to the retina.
3. IRIS
The coloured part of the eye that controls how much light gets in by causing the pupil to dilate or contract. The iris is part of a larger structure that forms a layer between the retina and sclera.
4. LENS
A transparent lens that changes shape to focus incoming light on the retina.
5. RETINA
Often thought of as the back of the eye, it’s more correctly the innermost layer that the light hits after being inverted by the lens. The retina is jam-packed with light-sensitive cells and nerve cells.