An electric eye is a photodetector used for detecting obstruction of a light beam. An example is the door safety system used on garage door openers that use a light transmitter and receiver at the bottom of the door to prevent closing if there is any obstruction in the way that breaks the light beam. The device does not provide an image; only presence of light is detectable. Visible light may be used, but infrared radiation conceals the operation of the device and typically is used in modern systems. Originally systems used lamps powered by direct current or the power line alternating current frequency, but modern photodetector systems use an infrared light-emitting diode modulated at a few kilohertz, which allows the detector to reject stray light and improves the range, sensitivity and security of the device.
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Famous quotes containing the words electric and/or eye:
“The more I see of democracy the more I dislike it. It just brings everything down to the mere vulgar level of wages and prices, electric light and water closets, and nothing else.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“The eye is the best of artists.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)