biology - Invisibility should cause blindness: how does hard sf cope?

One problem I've always thought of with science fiction characters becoming invisible is that they should go blind, because their retina does not catch any light.

Obviously a lot of soft SF or fantasy would gloss over this. But I'm sure that hard SF authors have had a go at it. How can invisibility and sight be reconciled?

Answer

H.G. Wells' The Invisible Man (the original) dealt with it. The eponymous character tests his formula on a cat first, and the author notes 'there remained two little ghosts of her eyes'.

I seem to recall from somewhere that he injects his eyeballs with something to achieve the effect.

Comments

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