# How do photons deliver information? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 15, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-photons-deliver-information/496525 "2009-05-15T14:42:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-photons-deliver-information/496525/21 "2009-05-15T16:50:35Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > We don’t see anything besides colour and spatial information Supposedly you can train yourself to see [polarization too](http://www.polarization.com/haidinger/haidinger.html). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-photons-deliver-information/496525/22 "2009-05-15T17:07:28Z")
I’m currently reading [Empire of Light: A History of Discovery in Science and Art , by Sidney Perkowitz](http://www.amazon.com/Empire-Light-History-Discovery-Science/dp/0309065569/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242407034&sr=8-1), which contains an excellent short description of how the eye works. Short in the sense of only a chapter, but too long to repeat or even summarize here. I’d recommend it for that chapter. I learned a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-photons-deliver-information/496525/23 "2009-05-15T17:19:02Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Supposedly you can train yourself to see [polarization too](http://www.polarization.com/haidinger/haidinger.html). Ooh, interesting! I never heard of that. I should try it sometime, I probably have some polarization filters lying around somewhere… Thanks for posting this! ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-photons-deliver-information/496525/24 "2009-05-15T17:19:19Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > Of course that’s not true. As noted previously, a single photon carries two pieces of fundamental information: a wavelength and a vector. Since those are data points inherent in the photon itself, I personally would not call that information _delivered_ by the photon, but feel free. Besides which, I was mostly kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-photons-deliver-information/496525/25 "2009-05-15T20:01:31Z")
People do not see a given color ‘A’ at point in their view frustum ‘B’, people see objects. Eyes are what see a given color color at a given point in the frustum, which is in fact [constantly moving](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsaccade). The photons hitting the rod or cone cells generate an electrical response from one of the four cell types. For color vision, the electrical responses from a given cone cell are multiplexed with neighboring cone cells to send three signals to the brain – a red-versus-green signal, a blue-versus-yellow signal and an overall luminance signal. In your brain, those signals together with the estimate of the view frustum that resulted in those signals are segmented by your brain into what its best guess at which objects exist in the scene. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-photons-deliver-information/496525/26 "2009-05-15T20:08:49Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Since those are data points inherent in the photon itself, I personally would not call that information _delivered_ by the photon, but feel free. > > Besides which, I was mostly kidding. People routinely use the frequency of the photons to deliver information. And in RADAR applications the direction of the photon is conveying information. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-photons-deliver-information/496525/27 "2009-05-15T20:48:18Z")
You guys really know how to take the fun out of something. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-photons-deliver-information/496525.md?page=1)