system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What happens to the photons that enter your eye? Where do they go after they transfer their information into the retina? Do they just bounce back out of the eye?
gpt
Photons must be destroyed to transfer any information.

They are absorbed by chemicals in the retina, their energy is used to briefly change the shape of the molecule and trigger a signal.

This generates a small amount of heat, which is why staring at the sun can overheat and damage your retina.