From the New York Times of January 29, 2004 (Circuits, p.E-8) “A Harvard group has reported fabricating “optical nanowires” formed of glass light guides that are smaller in diameter than the wavelength of visible light. A quote from the report:”the nanowires become the path around which the light waves flow. The thinner the wire, the more energy goes into the evanescent field around it”. Light therefore travels as a wave outside of a fiber light guide when it’s diameter is smaller than light wavelength”.
This is the fundamental mechanism that I propose is involved in light interaction with retinal receptors, i.e., that light as a wave interacts outside of (or between) individual receptors. In this mechanism energy is transferred from the electromagnetic wave to the absorbing electron mass orthogonal to the direction of incident light via what is termed an “evanescent wave” …and this exactly explains the heretofore considered peculiar dichroic orientation of the rhodopsin complex in retinal receptors
Although I have considered for some time that evanescent wave phenomena provided the basis for energy coupling between the incident llight wave and the correct dichroic orientation of the rhodopsin chromophore contained within each receptor, I have not discussed this subject in this paper which has attempted to stress the beauty and simplicity of the geometric concept and was addressed primarily to the vision community.
See this link for a brief discussion of evanescent wave phenomenon as the coupling mechanism between incident light and the rhodopsin complex
