National Geographic: The Invisible World Page #5

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specialized cameras can also record

events much too slow to see

For nature cinematographer

Ken Middleham

the technique of time-lapse

photography

provides a fascinating window

on an otherwise hidden realm

By taking single photographs at longer

than normal intervals

time and events are compressed

into a dramatic new scale

The two weeks it takes for

an orange to spoil

are telescoped into several seconds

A bunch of unripened bananas mature

before our eyes

The natural world is alive in ways

we cannot see-constantly in the

process of incredible transformation

Over a period of days

tiny worms devour the leaf of a tree

An apple provides a week-long meal

for dozens of hungry grubs

In only four days a dead field

mouse is consumed

by a mass of maggots

From the unstoppable process of decay

there inevitably springs new life

in full and beautiful abundance

Even the passage of years is not

a barrier

for the time-lapse camera

In less than half a minute

a boy can grow from four to 20

and then return again to childhood

Our eyes perceive the world

only in the language of light

Yet light, visible light

is but a narrow slice of

energy contained

within an infinite spectrum of

electromagnetic waves

that constantly vibrate

all around us

When scientists analyze light

breaking it apart into its

component wavelengths

the familiar rainbow of colors

from red to violet appears

Colors are the brain's code

for the wavelengths of light

we can see

Beyond this band of energy

our naked eyes go blind

The world around us hides

numerous sights

from our limited

light-sensitive eyes

By equipping a camera with

a sensitive filter

we can see the world reflected

in ultraviolet

light-the invisible wavelengths

of energy beyond the color

In the 1930s, scientists discovered

that honeybees have

a visual sensitivity

that extends beyond our own

On its daily search for nectar

the bee can sense its surroundings

in ultraviolet light

Some flowers we see

as solidly colored

have a very different

appearance to the bee

When viewed in ultraviolet light

new shadings and patterns appear

Helping to guide the bee

to nectar and pollen

ultraviolet markings

hidden from our eyes

have been discovered

on numerous flowers

Unseen ultraviolet rays stream

abundantly from the sun

but they are only one kind of

invisible light

that we must rely on cameras to reveal

We see the light of a burning match

but an image of its heat eludes us

If our eyes could see the part of

the spectrum

where red light turns to

infrared or heat

our view of the world would suddenly

take on a new and expanded scope

A technique called

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