Soft Matter Mechanics and the Mechanisms Underpinning the Infrared Vision of Snakes

Summary Pit-bearing snakes (vipers, pythons, and boas) have the extraordinary ability to “see” and accurately locate their prey and predators in total darkness. These animals use the infrared radiation emanating from objects that are warmer relative to the background environment to form a thermal image. Although enormous progress has been made to identify the key physiological features that enable the infrared vision of these snakes and a few other animals, the precise thermoelectric transduction mechanism that mediates the conversion of infrared heat to processable electrical signals has remained elusive. In this work, we quantitatively outline how cells in the snake's pit membrane organ act as apparent pyroelectric materials and convert infrared radiation into electrical signals. Despite the exceptional simplicity of our proposed mechanism and model, we are able to explain many central experimental results pertaining to the transduction process.