Feasibility of heat vision

Factual Questions
1

This came up during a conversation about evolution and mutations. In short: is it theoretically possible for a humanlike organism to possess heat vision?

Definitions: Heat vision involves a) radiation of any kind you want, b) emitted from the eyes, c) powerful enough to kill prey, say an average rabbit, with one shot, d) with an effective range of at least 40 meters, e) doesn’t harm the organism itself.

Is this possible, and not in the could-this-evolve sense, but in the could-this-organism-exist sense?

2

Well, eyes are designed (bad choice of words, but I can’t think of a better), to handle light, entering.

Not heat, exiting.
If you want Heat Vision, you’ll need Bionics.

3

I would think the sticking point would be evolving tissue that can emit radiation at will without degrading the tissues themselves. Even if only at the E=mc[sup]2[/sup] level, there’s got to be some trade-off, doesn’t there?

4

If eyes emitted radiation, you’d be blind.

5

[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor]
If eyes emitted radiation, you’d be blind.
[/QUOTE]
Unless they could receive it all the time except during the split-second shot.

6

[QUOTE=Priceguy]
Unless they could receive it all the time except during the split-second shot.
[/QUOTE]

How would you aim? :dubious:

7

[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor]
How would you aim? :dubious:
[/QUOTE]
Before shooting. It’s only a split second.

8

Always aim before shooting, y’all. Always.

9

[QUOTE=Priceguy]
This came up during a conversation about evolution and mutations. In short: is it theoretically possible for a humanlike organism to possess heat vision?

Definitions: Heat vision involves a) radiation of any kind you want, b) emitted from the eyes, c) powerful enough to kill prey, say an average rabbit, with one shot, d) with an effective range of at least 40 meters, e) doesn’t harm the organism itself.

Is this possible, and not in the could-this-evolve sense, but in the could-this-organism-exist sense?
[/QUOTE]

Well, if you limit the question to “could it exist?”, the answer is possibly yes, with a whole bunch of qualifiers. If you insist on it being the same organ that the organism sees with, probably not. If you allow for a second organ that’s somehow slaved to the eyes and tracks with them, it would be easier. The other qualification is “human-like”. I’m envisioning an organic laser powered by chemicals, something like the ones that themilitary is using for shooting down missiles . The chemicals used to power the reaction are oxygen, iodine, hydrogen and salts, so nothing impossible for a biological organism to sequester. The final product is corrosive and toxic, though. You’d need a special bone or ceramic-like container to contain it and mechanisms to dissipate waste heat. It would be tough to fit something like that inside something the size of a human cranium. Something the size of a buffalo or sperm whale, maybe.

The actual laser would be some kind of crystal or maybe led, again, possibly not impossible for a biological organism to grow, the way we grow teeth.

Even if you allow for some mighty improbable biochemical contraptions, the kind of energy you’re talking to barbeque a rabbit at 120 feet is pretty high. There’s a reason that no one’s carrying ray guns nowadays. Zap an animal with a laser, and unless it’s absurdly powerful, the animal is going to bound away leaving nothing behind but the smell of scorched fur. If the laser is powerful enough to kill, it’s not going to leave a nice little hole. You’re going to have a buildup of steam which, if it doesn’t dissipate the laser beam, will probably blow chunks out of your bunny.

All told, it’s probably easier to just throw rocks at the bunny.

10

[QUOTE=Priceguy]
Definitions: Heat vision involves a) radiation of any kind you want, b) emitted from the eyes, c) powerful enough to kill prey, say an average rabbit, with one shot, d) with an effective range of at least 40 meters, e) doesn’t harm the organism itself.
[/QUOTE]
When you sais “heat vision” I first though you meant “vision that is able to detect heat.” That is possible if the eye can detect light in the mid-infrared.

But you mean “vision that kills by shooting radiation from the eyes.” Well, if it fries a rabbit at 40 yards imagine what it does to your eye at 0 yards. Maybe it’s a one shot thing? Sort of a murder/suicide deal?

11

The best way to do this would be to have some kind of organ that broadcast microwave radiation. The microwaves are not “heat” themselves; they just cause the water molecules in the target to vibrate and heat up. Of course they’d do the same to the water molecules in your body so you’d want the broadcasting organ to be external and you wouldn’t want to point it at yourself.

So let’s put the organ in the middle of your forehead; that way you’re aiming it at whatever you’re looking at. We’ll give it a parabolic shaped shell of microwave reflective material; that will focus all the microwaves away from you are towards your target. We’ll put a microwave transparent cover on the front to protect the organ.

Now you’ve just got to figure out how to design a bodily organ that can emit microwave radiation.

12

I love these questions about the practical drawbacks of super powers (e.g., the power of invisibility = blind while invisible)

Heat vision = blind while firing and also permanent blindness when the heat rays scorch your eyeballs.

:stuck_out_tongue:

13

[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor]
Well, eyes are designed (bad choice of words, but I can’t think of a better)
[/QUOTE]

“Evolved”, perhaps?

:smiley:

14

[QUOTE=Little Nemo]
The best way to do this would be to have some kind of organ that broadcast microwave radiation.
[/QUOTE]

You’ll need a lot of power, and some way to store and release it quickly.

I doubt that a 1 second burst of radiation from a 1200 watt microwave would be sufficient to kill a rabbit at a distance with, even if you used fancy wave guide to direct the beam.
Still that same, probably inadequate, 1200 joules represents the total energy output of a human on a 2400 Calorie per day diet, over a period of 10 seconds.
Ramping up metabolism by a factor of 10 just to flash-cook a rabbit is going to hurt.

15

[QUOTE=Finagle]
Even if you allow for some mighty improbable biochemical contraptions, the kind of energy you’re talking to barbeque a rabbit at 120 feet is pretty high. There’s a reason that no one’s carrying ray guns nowadays. Zap an animal with a laser, and unless it’s absurdly powerful, the animal is going to bound away leaving nothing behind but the smell of scorched fur. If the laser is powerful enough to kill, it’s not going to leave a nice little hole. You’re going to have a buildup of steam which, if it doesn’t dissipate the laser beam, will probably blow chunks out of your bunny.
[/QUOTE]

This was the part I was worrying about. If we did manage to construct an organic death ray, how much energy would it need to actually be useful in fighting or hunting? The answer appears to be “a hell of a lot”.

16

It’s interesting that if I disintegrated you with laser beams shot from my eyes from my maximum range of 100 feet, you would not qualify it as death by heat vision.

17

Telekinetic excitation of the moleclues in an object within the range of vision would probably work better, and produce the same result. If the subject considers the effect at all he could easily believe the heating of the target is the direct result of his looking at it.

18

[QUOTE=Bearflag70]
I love these questions about the practical drawbacks of super powers (e.g., the power of invisibility = blind while invisible)

Heat vision = blind while firing and also permanent blindness when the heat rays scorch your eyeballs.
[/QUOTE]
Perhaps the emitters could be part of the iris, the laser itself elsewhere, and some sort of organic optical fibers channel the laser pulse to the eye emitters. Therefore they’d not actually in the way of vision, assuming we don’t go with the hidden-in-the-forehead option instead. Best to avoid blinking while firing though.

As said, the worst problem is probably the power requirements, with heat dissipation a close second. For the latter, you could add wings - not for flight, but for a stylish, nicely superheroic version of radiator fins. Instead of light feathers for flight, you’d have ones that can channel water through them to carry off the heat; the Laser Eyed Guy would raise and fluff them out in a nicely dramatic fashion for more efficient heat radiation before intoning something like “Face my wrath, evildoer !” and opening fire.

19

[QUOTE=Bootis]
It’s interesting that if I disintegrated you with laser beams shot from my eyes from my maximum range of 100 feet, you would not qualify it as death by heat vision.
[/QUOTE]
Huh? What am I missing?

20

[QUOTE=Priceguy]
Huh? What am I missing?
[/QUOTE]
100 feet < 40 meters ?