Light

"It’s everywhere. At this moment, as you sit quietly reading this book, you are awash in it. At work, it’s emanating from your electronic devices; step outside for lunch, and the sun bathes you in it. You may receive an extra dose of it when you visit your doctor, pass through security at the airport, or drive through city streets, but minuscule amounts of it are with you always. You cannot see, hear, smell, or feel it, but there is never a single second when it is not flying through your body. Too much of it will kill you, but without it you wouldn’t live a year. “Invisible light” seems like a contradiction. Like Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence,” it’s an oxymoron. We think of light, by definition, as something seen, something that enables our seeing, illuminating the darkness. Unlike dogs, who sniff in order to “get” what an object is, we depend on vision above all our other senses. We rely on light to tell us about our surroundings. But just as there are frequencies of sound audible to other animals that we cannot hear, there is a whole world of light outside our range of vision, a world that is humming with activity. Though we rarely think about this invisible world, our way of life depends on it. It’s because of invisible light that you can do things such as send a text message, use GPS to find your way to a friend’s house, listen to the radio, or microwave a frozen pizza. Invisible light shows us things we would never otherwise see, including our own skeletons and brains and the history of our universe. I was reminded of just how much we rely on invisible light, and how mysterious it remains to us, during a visit from my sister and her family. It was a lazy summer afternoon, and we were sprawled across a few couches sharing a bowl of popcorn. My niece, her shoulders crimson after a day outdoors, was chatting on her cell phone, holding up a promising finger to her mother, who was scolding her for not using sunscreen. My brother-in-law, meanwhile, was asking my opinion on an article he’d read proposing that Wi-Fi be banned in schools because of its dangers. We were all depending on invisible light (for the microwave popcorn, the cell-phone service) while being concerned that it might harm us (sunburn, mysterious Wi-Fi health threats) and confused about what to do to protect ourselves. We need it, and it surrounds us, yet we remain uneasy about living with invisible light, partly because we fear what is unknown. After all, most of us don’t know much about “all the light we cannot see.” This book aims to change that. My hope is to expose the hidden side of the spectrum, to make the invisible (at least temporarily) visible and vivid to you."

"We crossed to the pub on the corner of Carlisle Street and I ordered two schooners of old for him and one of light for me."

"Put that light out!"

"We turned off all the lights and went to sleep."

"To get to our house, turn right at the third light."

"Can you throw any light on this problem?"

"Now these notions are twofold, actions or habits[…], which are durable lights and notions, which we may use when we will."

"Picasso was one of the leading lights of the cubist movement."

"I'm really seeing you in a different light today."

""There will, I expect, be many such - possibly whole cities in flames - when we consider how many folk may have dropped with lights in their hands.""

"Hey, buddy, you got a light?"

"a Bengal light"

"This facade has eight south-facing lights."

"The average length of a light on a 15×15 grid is 7 or 8."

"The duke yet would have dark deeds darkly answered; he would never bring them to light."

"My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eies, it also is gone from me."

"He seemed to find his way without his eyes; / For out o'door he went without their helps, / And, to the last, bended their light on me."

"His mailèd habergeon she did undight, / And from his head his heavy burgonet did light."

""Sacredam!" he cried, when his eyes lit upon Buck. "Dat one dam bully dog! Eh? How moch?""

"I used my torch to light the way home through the woods in the night."

"She fell out of the window but luckily lit on her feet."

"This soggy match will not light."

"His bishops lead him forth, and light him on."

"Light the extra ball by amassing 500 million points in the wizard mode."

"to issue light coin"

"a light aircraft ; a light tank"

"light infantry; a troop of light horse"

"if a ship is light or partially loaded ; the light draft of a vessel, or its light displacement"

"the light locomotives ; a locomotive may be moved light"

"a light bread ; sponge cake is a light cake"

"This light beer still gets you drunk if you have enough of it."

"a light drizzle//a light rain was falling//a light snow set in"

"This artist clearly had a light, flowing touch."

"light duties around the house"

"I made some light comment, and we moved on."

"Long after lay he musing at her mood, / Much grieu'd to thinke that gentle Dame so light, / For whose defence he was to shed his blood."

"Unmarried men are best friends, best masters […] but not always best subjects, for they are light to run away."

"a light, vain person; a light mind"

"Ogden Nash was a writer of light verse."

"Are his wits safe? Is he not light of brain?"

"light sleep; light anesthesia"

"I wish you a good day, and you'll find a way To make your spirits light & gay"