The design of the compound eye depends on the physics of light

Abstract

This chapter considers the design of the insect compound eye as an optical device, taking advantage of techniques and ideas from the physical sciences. As equipment for optical, electrical and chemical analysis was developed in the 20th century, it became possible to discover how eyes actually work. The nervous system was revealed on the one hand as a vast assortment of neurons with individual specificities and responses, and on the other as an integrated system of circuits in parallel that can be understood only as a whole in context during normal behaviour. Even so, advance is limited by technique; for example, little is known about the responses of receptor cells that move under the influence of light. Show more