Quote:

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"It takes about 2 hours for your rhodopsin (visual purple) to regenerate"

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Rhodopsin, also known as visual purple, is expressed in vertebrate photoreceptor cells. It is a pigment of the retina that is responsible for both the formation of the photoreceptor cells and the first events in the perception of light. Rhodopsins belong to the class of G-protein coupled receptors. It is the chemical that allows night-vision, and is extremely sensitive to light. Exposed to white light, the pigment immediately bleaches, and it takes about 30 minutes to regenerate fully in humans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodopsin

The 30 minute regeneration scenario seems more in line with personal experience.

Attatched photo: A rhodopsin molecule (yellow) in the cell membrane (blue). Retinal is shown in orange.

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I've heard/read the 2 hour period before, but I don't know where. I do know it was in relation to astronomical viewing. It could be that for more common activities, 30 minutes is good enough, but for seeing faint fuzzies you need that extra 90 minutes. I do know that that longer I'm out in the dark it just gets better!

Edited by EdZ (08/10/06 09:25 AM)

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