Slides Week 5 Flashcards
Basic Principles of Colour Vision
- We see objects when we detect the light reflected from them
- Depending on Atomic Structure objects absorb some wave lengths and reflect others
- It is reflected light that is perceived as colour
- Colour is not a physical property but a psychophysical property
Atomic Structure
- Atoms consist of three basic particles: protons, electrons, and neutrons
- The nucleus (center) of the atom contains the protons (positively charged) and the neutrons (no charge)
- The outermost regions of the atom are called electron shells and contain the electrons (negatively charged)
Visible Spectrum of light
Between 400-700 nm
Three Steps to Colour Perception
- Detection
- Discrimination
- Appearance
Colour Percption - Detection
Wavelengths of light must be detected
Colour Perception - Discrimination
We must be able to tell the difference between one wavelength and another
Colour Perception - Appearance
We want to assign perceived colours to lights and surfaces in the world and have those perceived colours be stable over time regardless of different lighting conditions.
Scotopic Light
Light intensity that is bright enough to stimulate Rod Receptors but too dim to stimulate Cone Receptors
Photopic Light
Light that is bright enough to stimulate Cone Receptors AND saturate Rod Receptors to their maximum responses
Preferential Absorption
- Retina contains three types of cone receptors that differ in sensitivity to light
- They are each most sensitive at
- short wavelenghts
- medium wavelenghts
- long wavelentghs
- There is one type of Rod and it’s peak sensitivity sits between short and medium wavelenghts
Principle of Univariance
- There is an infinite set of wavelength intensity combinations
- They can elicit exactly the same response from a single type of photoreceptor
- A single type of photoreceptor cannot make colour discrimination based on wavelength
- A single photorecptor has different responses to lights of different wavelenths but the same intensity
Trichromatic Theory
- Also known as the Young-Helmholtz theory
- The theory that the colour of any light is defined by:
- Our visual system
- The relationships of numbers
- Outputs of three receptor types now know to be the three cones
Metamers
- Different mixtures of wavelengths that look identical
- Generally any pair of stimuli that are perceived as identical despite physical differences
Additive Colour Mixing
- Physical Definition: A mixture of lights reflected from a surface to the eye
- Psychological Definition: perceiving colour in the effects of those lights added together
- Shining two lights that look one colour each and perceiving a different colour producing and additive colour mixture
Subtractive Colour Mixing
- A mixture of pigments where some of the light from pigment A is subtracted from pigment B
- Only the remaining pigment contributes to the perception of colour
- This is denoted when we use colour filters
Pigment
- A material that changes the colour of reflected or transmitted light.
The limits of a rainbow
- If you combine lights that look red and blue you get purple, But there is no purple on the spectrum
- Purples are non-spectral colours that join the ends of the spectrum into a colour circle
Colour Appearance
What Colours will be perceived?
- Colour Space
- RGB Colour Space
Colour Space
- A three-dimensional space that describes all colours
- There are several possible colour spaces
RGB Colour Space
Defined by the outputs of long, medium and short wavelengths
- Long Wavelength = Red
- Medium Wavelength = Green
- Short Wavelength = Blue
HSB Colour Space
Defined by Hue, Saturation, and brightness
HSB Colour Space - Hue
- The chromatic aspect of light
- The perceived colour of light