The myth of the fiber-optic polar bear

摘要

Daniel W. Koon of St. Lawrence University, USA, reveals the myths about ursine fiber optics, an area of study that no longer exists. The roots of ursine fiber optics lie in Arctic zoology, when biologist David M. Lavigne was looking for a way to count polar bear and seal populations in the Arctic. Aerial photography, thermal imaging, and ultraviolet photography did not work as the polar bear's pelts did not reflect as well as ice and snow does. The researchers reasoned that since the hairs don't reflect UV and don't absorb light, the only place left for the light to go was along the shafts of the hair: Therefore, hairs must act as ultraviolet light pipes. But the truth is that the hairs only appear transparent to visible light when they are viewed across the hairs, and not when observed along their length. It is concluded that technically, polar bear hairs do have fiber optic properties.