Talk:X-ray vision

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Should someone incorporate this into it?[]

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What does "extant" mean? 64.192.107.242 01:14, 15 March 2006 (UTC)


 * Extant. &mdash; Saxifrage &#9998; 18:34, 15 March 2006 (UTC)

I have a question that wasn't answered here. In sci-fi uses of X-ray vision, such as James Bond, Superman, etc., first, is there a limitation on the range of x-ray vision, and second, can prolonged exposure create detrimental effects, like cancer? Kevin 06:10, 28 June 2006 (UTC)
 * I can't answer the "range" question, but the "exposure" question is rather interesting. As noted in the article, Superman's X-ray vision generated heat, suggesting that Superman himself was the source of the X-rays.  However, this would also suggest that in order to see through things, there would have to be something behind the object he's looking at/through to reflect his rays back to his eyes.  After the Byrne revamp in 1986, it seemed that Superman's X-ray vision was merely the ability to visually perceive frequencies outside the normal human range, so there is no additional radiation present -- he's merely taking advantage of natural sources. HalJor 23:54, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

I'm surprised there is no mention of the fact that human eyes receive light, not transmit it, in order to see. When an x-ray is taken in a medical environment, you have an x-ray emitter on one side of the object, and film on the other. If a fictional character had x-ray vision that is transmissive, all they can do is bathe something in radiation, not see through it. If that character had x-ray vision that is receptive, they would need to have a source of x-rays on the other side of the object they are looking at, in order to see the contents. With normal vision, you can see because light from an external source strikes objects and "reflects" so the reflected light enters the eye. In the case of x-rays, they are notable because they don't strike surfaces like visible light does -- they can penetrate a bit deeper, and are sometimes absorbed completely (lead). If humans had eyes that could also emit white light, we could see anything we want without need of a source, but if someone were to have eyes that can both transmit and receive x-rays, it would still be useless because there are few materials that reflect x-rays so they can be observed in the same manner as visible light. That is to say, you're still dependent on an x-ray source on the opposite side of the object. - MHoward

"...but sometimes for more perverted reasons"
The phrase "...but sometimes for more perverted reasons" is POV. Let's be less vague and state that X-ray vision is sometimes used in fictional works to view people's private parts and leave it up to the reader to decide whether that is perverted or not. --Cab88 13:50, 12 October 2007 (UTC)

About the source of Xrays- you forgot something major
Since we're dealing with Em radiation- Superman could realistically easily see it- and no, he doesnt need to emit xrays from his eyes(they don't bounce off a lot of common materials)

No, what you've all forgotten is that there's a miniscule amount of high energy rays that do get through earth's atmosphere- and they are extremely small in total power(or sometimes pretty high- ie the rays that go through everything and have very little interaction(but Superman can see the whole spectrum so he'd be able to see them)- but the fact is there is ambient xray radiation from outside the planet.

I am not sure of natural sources of Xrays on the earth-that's like saying the Earth naturally emits visible light. I don't recall if it's true- but if so, it's on a level so small that pretty much only Superman could detect it with his super eyes.

Anyway, does not the Sun emit xrays as well- aside from its high burst periods, it probably constantly emits some amount. Correct me if i am wrong please- but Superman could use that radiation almost as our eyes adn cameras can read visible light from the Sun.

I'm aware Xrays don't behave like normal visible light-band Em radiation, and plus one reason we can see so well is that a lot of stuff SCATTERS visible light(not sure if this would occur for these extremely weak xrays that do get to Earth's Surface and past the magnetic fields-and on the high end, all the higher energy stuff HARDLY interacts with matter on earth- it's why it takes labs deep under the earth to detect and build images from that space radiation)

But anyway- Can we get some expert opinions regarding the ambient values/background radiation?

Indeed, we're dealing with really miniscule amounts that would be too cost-prohibitive for us to go after ourselves, but it actually fits with Superman's multispectral selective vision. I apologize If I'm way off in left field here.98.85.106.24 (talk) 05:19, 21 April 2011 (UTC)
 * That's a great point, except for one thing. We can see objects because light from the sun reflects off of them and is reflected to our eyes. X-rays from the sun pass through most matter. Superman would only be able to see very dense materials that block or reflect X-rays. He wouldn't be able to, say, read a newspaper through a brick wall, or see a person's body (except for the skeleton) through clothes. WaxTadpole (talk) 22:19, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

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 * X-Ray vision.jpg