To what extent does trichromatic theory explain colour vision?

Thomas Young developed the trichromatic theory in 1837, to explain how different
wavelengths are coded in the visual system, and therefore lead to the perception of
different colours. This explanation involves three different cone types, and there is a
lot if evidence to support this idea. However, alternative explanations, such as Ewald
Hering’s theory of opponent processing needs to be considered when explaining
colour vision.

Firstly, evidence for trichromacy was proposed by Young 200 years ago with his
colour mixing demonstration where he showed that it was possible to match any
shade of colour with a suitable mixture of just three coloured lights. Secondly, it has
been shown that we use three dimensions to describe any colour: brightness, hue and
saturation. We don’t need any more than three and two are not always sufficient,
which is a necessary consequence of trichromacy. Thirdly, the technique of
microspectrophotometry can determine the light absorbed by the photopigment in a
cone by directing a finely focused beam of light onto a single isolated cone and
measuring the exact amount of light absorbed for a large number of wavelengths of
light, and thus can establish the spectral sensitivity curves of the three cone types.

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