A TED-Ed video has explained the mystery of those white floaty things in your eyes. The video explains the origin of the white floaters in the eyes in layman terms making it easier to digest all that scientific description coming your way!
The scientific name of floaters is Muscae volitantes. These floaters are usually harmless and are present in the eyeball. The most confusing aspect of floaters is that they appear to be moving in the same direction as your eyes. However, they are not alive, and it is just an illusion.
The floaters are created by the breakdown of the vitreous humor, a gel-like substance inside the eyeball. The disintegrated components of vitreous humor float away; hence called the floaters. Floaters are usually composed of RBCs, proteins or even tissue.
The presence of these floaters in the eye creates a shadow on the retina. Therefore, the closer they get to the eyes, the larger the shadow on the retina grows.
The presence of the floaters in the eyes becomes more apparent when you fix your sight on a bright screen like a computer screen.
The TED-Ed video goes on to explain those mysterious small drops that appear in your vision if you stare at the sky. The experience is scientifically named as the entoptic phenomenon, and the moving little dots are the white blood cells traveling in the capillaries. The entoptic phenomenon is quite different from floaters, yet it is entirely intriguing.
You can watch the video explaining both the phenomena below: