<div class="" data-article-body="true"><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Curious Kids;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com" data-ylk="slk:CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p><hr class="my-4"><blockquote class="mb-4 border-l-2 pl-5 italic text-tertiary"><div class=""><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words"><strong>How long does it take for your eyes to adjust to the dark and how does it happen? – Ellen T., 8, Cambridge, Massachusetts</strong></p></div></blockquote><hr class="my-4"><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">No one can see in total darkness. Fortunately, there’s almost always some light available. Even if it’s only dim starlight, that’s enough for your eyes to detect. What’s truly amazing is how little light is required for you to see.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">Human eyes have two main features that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation_(eye)" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:help us see better in low light;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">help us see better in low light</a>: the pupil’s ability to change size, and the eye’s two types of light-sensing cells.</p><h2 class="mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl">Opening up to let in more light</h2><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">Your pupils are the black areas at the front of your eyes that let light enter. They look black because the light that reaches them is absorbed inside the eyeball. It’s then converted by your brain into your perceptions of the world.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">You’ve probably noticed that <a href="http://markfairchild.org/WhyIsColor/Questions/3-2.html" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:pupils can change size;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">pupils can change size</a> in response to light. Outside on a bright sunny day, your pupils become very small. This lets less light into the eye since there’s plenty available.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words"><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-eyes-adjust-to-darkness/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:When you move to a dark place;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">When you move to a dark place</a>, your pupils open up to become as large as possible. This expansion allows your eye to collect more of whatever light there is.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">But from its tiniest size to its most wide open, your pupil can enlarge its area by a factor of only about 16 times. You can see well across changes in light level of far more than a million times. So there has to be something else going on.</p><figure class="relative mb-4"><div class="relative"><img alt='Light enters the eye through the pupil (on the left) and hits the retina, which is covered with light-sensitive rod and cone cells. &lt;a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/schematic-structure-retina-rod-cells-cone-117249538" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Designua/Shutterstock.com;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link "&gt;Designua/Shutterstock.com&lt;/a&gt;' loading="lazy" width="960" height="731" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="rounded-lg" style="color:transparent" src="https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/Ugt5f3.PJrNbrRTkPLWfcw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTczMTtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_conversation_us_articles_815/2c0be08b81ea41b443d2dab5e9d75b50"><button aria-label="View larger image" class="group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent" data-ylk="elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;"><span class="absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none"><svg viewbox="0 0 22 22" aria-hidden="true" class="size-4 lg:size-6" width="22" height="22"><path d="M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z"></path></svg></span></button><dialog aria-label="Modal Dialog" aria-modal="true" class="fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden"></dialog></div><figcaption class="relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5"><div style="max-height:none;overflow:visible">Light enters the eye through the pupil (on the left) and hits the retina, which is covered with light-sensitive rod and cone cells. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/schematic-structure-retina-rod-cells-cone-117249538" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Designua/Shutterstock.com;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Designua/Shutterstock.com</a></div></figcaption></figure><h2 class="mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl">Switching to different light sensors</h2><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">That’s where the photorecepters come in. These are <a href="https://www.exploratorium.edu/video/peripheral-vision-whats-going" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:the light-sensing cells;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">the light-sensing cells</a> that line your retina, the back part of your eyeball. The two kinds of photorecepters are called cones and rods, named because of their shapes.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">Cones work when there is plenty of light. They’re able to respond to different colors of light, providing color vision. They also allow you to see fine detail and do things like read when the light is bright enough.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">Rods, on the other hand, are far more sensitive to light and <a href="http://markfairchild.org/WhyIsColor/Questions/5-2.html" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:incapable of discriminating colors;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">incapable of discriminating colors</a>. They also pool their responses together when needed – that makes you more sensitive to light, but also means you’re less able to see fine details. That’s why you can’t read a book in the dark, though you might see its rectangular shape.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">As you move from a brightly lit area to a dark one, your eyes automatically change from using the cones to using the rods and you become far more sensitive to light. You can see in the dark, or at least in very low light.</p><h2 class="mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl">Just how long does it take?</h2><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">When you’re in bright light, your rods are completely overwhelmed and don’t work. If you flip off the lights, your pupil will immediately open up. Your photorecepters start to improve their sensitivity, to soak up whatever light they can in the new dim conditions.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">The cones do this quickly – after about five minutes, their sensitivity maxes out. After about 10 minutes in a darker place, your rods finally catch up and take over. You’ll start to see much better. After about 20 minutes, your rods will be doing their best and you will see as well as possible “in the dark.”</p><figure class="relative mb-4"><div class="relative"><img alt='Let your eyes adapt to the dark and see what you can see. &lt;a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/huW_b5gK280" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:yann bervas/Unsplash;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link "&gt;yann bervas/Unsplash&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:CC BY;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link "&gt;CC BY&lt;/a&gt;' loading="lazy" width="960" height="640" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="rounded-lg" style="color:transparent" src="https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/zqQrxBUZ4chMoizcJb8yNw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_conversation_us_articles_815/c2a6edaa5c9b17af1ee78e98586239c2"><button aria-label="View larger image" class="group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent" data-ylk="elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;"><span class="absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none"><svg viewbox="0 0 22 22" aria-hidden="true" class="size-4 lg:size-6" width="22" height="22"><path d="M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z"></path></svg></span></button><dialog aria-label="Modal Dialog" aria-modal="true" class="fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden"></dialog></div><figcaption class="relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5"><div style="max-height:none;overflow:visible">Let your eyes adapt to the dark and see what you can see. <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/huW_b5gK280" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:yann bervas/Unsplash;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">yann bervas/Unsplash</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:CC BY;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">CC BY</a></div></figcaption></figure><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words"><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/seeing-in-the-dark1/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Try it;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Try it</a>. Find a very dark place, maybe your bedroom at night. Turn on whatever light you have and gather some colorful objects. Spend some time noticing how colorful, sharp and full of contrast things look.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">Then turn off the lights and watch how the appearance of your room and objects <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4380301/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:changes over time;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">changes over time</a>. First it will seem very dark; then you will rapidly see better, thanks to your pupils and cones doing their jobs. Then, if it is dark enough, you will notice another rather sudden improvement after about 10 minutes, when the rods start to show their stuff. This is called <a href="http://markfairchild.org/WhyIsColor/Questions/5-5.html" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:dark adaptation;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">dark adaptation</a>.</p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words">What about total darkness? If you can find a place with absolutely no light, perhaps a closet, bathroom or basement, you can try the experiment again. This time, even after 20 minutes you won’t see any objects in the room. But you won’t see total blackness either. Try it and observe what happens.</p><hr class="my-4"><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words"><em>Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com" data-ylk="slk:CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words"><em>Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.</em></p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words"><em>This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com/us?utm_source=Yahoo&amp;utm_medium=related-link&amp;utm_campaign=related-link-0&amp;utm_content=article-124044" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:The Conversation;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">The Conversation</a>, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/mark-d-fairchild-841403?utm_source=Yahoo&amp;utm_medium=related-link&amp;utm_campaign=byline-link&amp;utm_content=article-124044" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Mark D. Fairchild;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Mark D. Fairchild</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rochester-institute-of-technology-1379?utm_source=Yahoo&amp;utm_medium=related-link&amp;utm_campaign=byline-link&amp;utm_content=article-124044" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Rochester Institute of Technology;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Rochester Institute of Technology</a></em> </em></p><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words"><strong>Read more:</strong><br></p><ul class="mb-4"><li class="ml-4 list-disc"><div class=""><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words"><a href="http://theconversation.com/seeing-without-eyes-the-unexpected-world-of-nonvisual-photoreception-79166?utm_source=Yahoo&amp;utm_medium=related-link&amp;utm_campaign=related-link0&amp;utm_content=article-124044" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Seeing without eyes – the unexpected world of nonvisual photoreception;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Seeing without eyes – the unexpected world of nonvisual photoreception</a></p></div></li><li class="ml-4 list-disc"><div class=""><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words"><a href="http://theconversation.com/75-years-of-instant-photos-thanks-to-inventor-edwin-lands-polaroid-camera-94282?utm_source=Yahoo&amp;utm_medium=related-link&amp;utm_campaign=related-link1&amp;utm_content=article-124044" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:75 years of instant photos, thanks to inventor Edwin Land’s Polaroid camera;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">75 years of instant photos, thanks to inventor Edwin Land’s Polaroid camera</a></p></div></li><li class="ml-4 list-disc"><div class=""><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words"><a href="http://theconversation.com/a-dark-night-is-good-for-your-health-39161?utm_source=Yahoo&amp;utm_medium=related-link&amp;utm_campaign=related-link2&amp;utm_content=article-124044" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:A dark night is good for your health;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">A dark night is good for your health</a></p></div></li></ul><p class="mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words"><em><span>Mark D. Fairchild does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p></div>

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