Could Science Make an Eye?

Psalm 139:14
“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”

Scientists have tried to tackle the job of creating a machine that is able to see as well as the human eye. In the process, they are gaining a new appreciation for the wonderful gift of sight.

They have learned, first of all, that no computer chip can be made today that could begin to do what the retina does. But, if it could be made, it would have to be something like half a million times bigger than your retina. One computer scientist has estimated that a computer chip that could begin to do what your retina does would have to weigh in at about 100 pounds!

The retina, which is something like a small slip of clingy food wrap, weighs less than a gram. It occupies only 0.0003 inch of space. On the other hand, the scientists’ theoretical “seeing” chip would fill 10,000 cubic inches. And while your retina operates on only 0.0001 watt of power, the synthetic “seeing” chip would require 300 watts of power and a cooling system. Even with all this, it couldn’t see very well. It would be able to resolve a square area of only about 2,000 units of vision – called pixels – while your eye can resolve five times that much! Such a chip would have the equivalent of about 1 million transistors, while your retina has the equivalent of 25 billion transistors!

Truly modern science offers elegant testimony to the fact that the eye could not have been produced by evolution – and that it could have been created only by a very wise Creator!

Prayer:
Truly, dear Lord, I am fearfully and wonderfully made! I thank You for all the senses You have given me. Even though they may not all be perfect, I ask that You would perfect them by leading me to use them to Your glory. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Notes:
Photo: Plastic wrap – thicker than the retina.