Limits RegistryPUBLIC RECORD
Limits RegistryIn 2016, Jonathan Tinsley, Alipasha Vaziri and colleagues at Rockefeller University and the University of Vienna used a quantum light source that emits exactly one photon at a time and found that observers detected single photons slightly but significantly better than chance (about 51.6% correct). The result suggests the human visual system can register a single photon.
The question, scope, and sources behind this Registry record.
In 2016, Jonathan Tinsley, Alipasha Vaziri and colleagues at Rockefeller University and the University of Vienna used a quantum light source that emits exactly one photon at a time and found that observers detected single photons slightly but significantly better than chance (about 51.6% correct). The result suggests the human visual system can register a single photon.
The smallest number of photons that dark-adapted human observers have been shown to detect at a rate significantly above chance.
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Current frontiers derived from accepted Claims.
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The frontier as it changed over time.
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1 accepted Claim, with 1 linked evidence records.
Permanent ID limitsregistry.com/limits/LR-HUMAN-EYE-SINGLE-PHOTON-DETECTION
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Limits Registry. LR-HUMAN-EYE-SINGLE-PHOTON-DETECTION. Smallest light stimulus detectable by the human eye. 2026.