Physics1230:LightandColor

Chapter10
Chapter10:Color
Perception
Howweseecolor

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Threetypesofconeseach
withdifferentresponsesat
allwavelengths
Colormatching
Opponentprocessing
Colorblindnesses
(deficienciesinseeing
color)
Spatialcolorprocessingin
yourretina
Doubleopponentwith
receptivefields

Wehavethreedifferentkindsofconeswhoseresponses
aremainlyatshort,intermediateandlongwavelengths

Rule: To get the overall response of each type of

cone, multiply the intensity of the light at each
wavelength by the response of the cone at that
wavelength and then add together all of the
products for all of the wavenumbers in the
intensity distribution

relativeresponse

s-cones absorb short wavelength light best,

with peak response at 450 nm (blue)
L-cones absorb long wavelength light best,
Lcones
with peak response at 580 nm (red)
icones
i-cones absorb intermediate wavelengths
scones
best, with peak response at 540 nm (green)
Light at any wavelength in the visual
spectrum from 400 to 700 nm will excite
these 3 types of cones to a degree depending Spectral response of cones in typical human eye
on the intensity at each wavelength.
Our perception of which color we are seeing
(color sensation) is determined by how
much S, i and L resonse occurs to light of a
particular intensity distribution.

ConceptQuestion
Whatisanadditive
mixtureofblueand
yellow?
A.Green;
B.Red;
C.White;
D.Black;
E.Orange;

Welearnedthisin
Chapter9Whydo
westillneedthis?

Lightcolor
Brightness
46 0nm blue
1
57 5nm yellow
1.6 6
Mixtur e(perceivedaswhite)

Sconer esponse
60
0
60+0=6 0

Iconer esponse
5
1.66 x33
5+1.66 x33=60

Lconeresponse
2
1.66 x35
2+1.66 x35=60

Examplesoftwodifferentwaysweseewhite

Oursensationofcolordependsonhowmuchtotals,i
&Lconeresponseoccursduetoalightintensity
distribution
Multiplytheintensitydistributioncurvebyeach
responsecurvetodeterminehowmuchtotalS,i,
andLresponseoccurs
Weexperiencethesensationwhitewhenwehave
equaltotals,i&Lresponses
Therearemanywaysthiscanoccur!!
E.g.,whenbroadbandlightentersoureye
Anotherwaytoexperiencewhiteisbyviewinga
mixtureofblueandyellow
E.g.,460nmblueofintensity1and575nm
yellowofintensity1.66
Theblueexcitesmainlysconesbutalsoa
bitoficonesandabitofLcones
Theyellowexcitesiconesand(slightly
more)Lconesbutnoscones
Theresultisanequalresponseofscones,
iconesandLcones(details)

Spectral response of cones in typical human eye

relativeresponse

1.66
1

460nmblueof
intensity1

575nmyellow
ofintensity1.66

Lightcolor

Brightness

Iconeresponse

Sconeresponse

Lconeresponse

Howdoesanormalpersonseeyellowwhenonlyred
1
negligible
41
28
andgreenlightsaresuperimposed?
2.15
negligible
2.15x2
2.15x9
650nmred
530nmgreen

(perceivedasyellow)
yellow

negligible

Oursensationofyellowdependsonaspecials,i&
575nmyellow
1.35
negligible
Lconeresponse
Weexperiencethesensationyellowwhen575nm
lightreachesoureyes
Whatreallygivesusthesensationofyellowis
thealmostequalresponseofiandLcones
togetherwithnoscones!!
Anotherwaytoexperienceyellowisbyseeing
overlappingred&greenlights
E.g.,530nmgreenofintensity1and650
nmredofintensity2.15
Thegreenexcitesmainlyiconesbutalso
Lcones,whiletheredexcitesmainlyL
conesbutalsoicones
Thetotalresponeofs&iconesduetothe
spectralgreenandredisthesameasthe
totalresponseduetospectralyellow
Ingeneralneed3wavelengthlightstomixto
anycolor

41+2.15x2=45
28+2.15x9=47
Spectral
response of cones
in typical human eye

relativeresponse

Mixture

1.35x33=45

1.35x35=47

650nmred
575nmyellowofintensity
ofintensity1.35 2.15
530nmgreen
1 ofintensity1

2.15

Whathappensifapersonismissingonetypeofcone?
Spectral response of cones in protanopic eye

relativ eresponse

Missingonetypeofconeresultsinonetype
ofcolorblindness
E.g.,someonewhoseLconeismissing
willnotseecolorscorrectly
Theywillseewhiteorgreywhenasingle
wavelength495nmispresentbecauselight
at495nmexcitesS&iconesequallyno
matterwhatitsintensity
Theywillalsobeabletoseewhiteby
mixingany2wavelengthlightswiththe
correctintensitiessothattheSandicones
respondequally
Allcolorstheyseecanbeobtainedby
mixingonly2differentwavelengthlights
Thistypeofcolorblindednessiscalled
protanopia(akindofdichromacy)

Dichromatscanmatchanylightcolorby
mixingonly2wavelengthlights

Whathappensifapersonismissing2(orall3)
typesofcones?
Missing2orall3typeofconesresults
inadifferent(rare)typeofcolor
blindnesscalledmonochromacy

Conemonochromatshaveonlyonetype
ofcone(s,iorL).
Rodmonochromatshavenoconesand
havedifficultyseeingwiththeirrods
underbrightlight(photopic)conditions

Monochromatscanmatchalightofany
colorbyvaryingtheintensityofonly
onespectral(wavelength)light

Theyaretrulycolorblindbecausethey
cannotdistinguishanywavelengthcolor
fromanyother
Theyseeinblacks,whitesandgreys

Trichromats(thosewith
trichromacy)possessall3types
cones,buteitherhaveshifted
responsecurvesforoneormoreof
thoseconesorelsehaveaproblem
withopponentprocessing(tobe
discussednext)

Conceptquestion
Canrodmonochromats
distinguishredcolor
fromgreencolor?
A.Yes
B.No
C.Onlyduringabright
day;
D.Onlyduringgthe
night;

Thefourpsychologicalprimaries

Inadditiontotheadditive
primaries(RGB)andthe
subtractiveprimaries(CMY)
thereisanothersetof(4)
primarycolors,calledthe
psychologicalprimaries

Blue
Green
Yellow
Red(reallyclosertomagenta)

Thesehuescanbeusedto
describeallotherhues.

Allhuescanbeverballydescribedas
combinationsofthesecolors.For
example,

Yellowishred
Greenishyellow
Bluishgreen
Bluishred

BUTwedon'trecognizehuessuchas
Reddishgreen
Yellowishblue

Redandgreenareopponenthues
Yellowandblueareopponenthues

Wecanverifycolornamingofhuesintermsofthe
psychologicalprimariesonthechromaticitydiagram
Allofthehuescanbenamedqualitatively
byhowmuchgreen,red,blueoryellowis
"in"them
Wedon'tneedorange,purpleorpink:

orangecanbethoughtofasyellowred
purplecanbethoughtofasredblue
pinkhasthesamehueasredbutdiffersonlyin
lightness

Wecanbreakupthediagraminto4
differentregionsbydrawingtwolines
whoseendpointsarethepsychological
primaryhues

Theendpointsoftheyellowlineare580
nm"unique"yellowand475nm"unique"
blue
Oneendpointoftheredlineis500nm
"unique"greenandtheotheris"red"(not
uniqueorspectralreallymorelike
magenta)
magenta

Greenness&
yellowness

Gr
een
blu ness
ene &
ss

ss&
e
n
d
e
R
ess
n
e
u
l
b

Redness&
yellowness

Whatismeantbytheopponentnatureofredvsgreen
(rg)perceptionandofyellowvsblue(yb)perception.

Wecallthisperceptionouryb
channel
Yellow&blueareopponents

Movingparalleltotheredlinefrom
500nmgreentowardsnonspectral
redweseemorerednessineachcolor
andlessgreenness.
Wecallthisperceptionourrg
channel
Redandgreenareopponents

Thelinescrossatwhite,whereboth
yb&rgareneutralized

Greenness&
yellowness
rg

Gr
een
blu ness
ene &
ss

y
b

Viewingaprogressionofcolorsin
thedirectionoftheyellowlinefrom
475nmbluetowards580nmyellow,
weseemoreyellownessofeachcolor
andlessblueness.

ss&
e
n
d
e
R
ess
n
e
u
l
b

Redness&
yellowness

Howmightthethreetypesofconesbe"wired"toneural
cellstoaccountforourperceptionofhuesintermsoftwo
opponentpairsofpsychologicalprimariesrgandyb?
The3kindsofconesarerelatedtorgandybby
thewaytheyareconnectedtoneuralcells(suchas
ganglioncells)
Conesofeachkindareattachedto3different
neuralcellswhichcontrolthetwochromatic
channels,ybandrg,andthewhitevsblack
channelcalledtheachromaticchannel(lightness)
"wiring"isthefollowing:
WhenlightfallsontheLconestheytellall3
neuralcellstoincreasetheelectricalsignalthey
sendtothebrain
Whenlightfallsontheiconestheytelltherg
channelcelltodecrease(inhibit)itssignalbuttell
theothercellstoincreasetheirsignal
Whenlightfallsonthesconestheytelltheyb
channelcelltodecrease(inhibit)itssignalbuttell
theothercellstoincresetheirsignal

scone

++

neuralcell
foryb
chromatic
channel

icone

Lcone

+ +

+ ++

neuralcell
forrg
chromatic
channel

Electricalsignaltobrain

neuralcell
forwblk
achromatic
channel

Howcanthis"wiring"worktoproducethechromatic
channels?

Theneuralcellfortheybchromatic
channelhasitssignal

inhibitedwhen(bluE)lightexcitesthes
cone
INTERPRETEDASBLUE
enhancedwhenlightexcitesthei&Lcones

scone

icone

Lcone

+ +

+ ++

INTERPRETEDASYELLOW

Theneuralcellforthergchromatic
channelhasitssignal

inhibitedwhen(green)lightfallsonthei
cone
INTERPRETEDASGREEN
enhancedwhenlightexcitesthesandL
cone
INTERPRETEDASMAGENTA
(Psychologicalred)
Theneuralcellfortheachromaticchannelhasits
signalenhancedwhenlightexcitesanyofthe
cones

++

neuralcell
foryb
chromatic
channel

neuralcell
forrg
chromatic
channel

Electricalsignaltobrain

neuralcell
forwblk
achromatic
channel

Welearned:howconeneuralcell"wiring"
workstoproducethechromaticchannels

Theneuralcellfortheybchromatic
channelhasitssignal

inhibitedwhen(bluE)lightexcitesthes
cone
INTERPRETEDASBLUE
enhancedwhenlightexcitesthei&Lcones

scone

icone

Lcone

+ +

+ ++

INTERPRETEDASYELLOW

Theneuralcellforthergchromatic
channelhasitssignal

inhibitedwhen(green)lightfallsonthei
cone
INTERPRETEDASGREEN
enhancedwhenlightexcitesthesandL
cone
INTERPRETEDASMAGENTA
(Psychologicalred)
Theneuralcellfortheachromaticchannelhasits
signalenhancedwhenlightexcitesanyofthe
cones

++

neuralcell
foryb
chromatic
channel

neuralcell
forrg
chromatic
channel

Electricalsignaltobrain

neuralcell
forwblk
achromatic
channel

Moresystematicdescriptions
ofcolorblindedness(noneed
tomemorizeterminology)
Monochromacy(canmatchanycoloredlight
withany1spectrallightbyadjusting

intensity)
Eitherhasnocones(rodmonochromat)
orhasonly1ofthe3typesofcones
working(conemonochromat).
Seesonywhites,greys,blacks,nohues
Dichromacy(canmatchanycoloredlight
with2spectrallightsofdifferentintensitiesof
(ratherthanthenormal3)
Lconefunctionlacking=protanopia
iconefunctionlacking=deuteranopia
sconefunctionlacking=tritanopia
noybchannelbutall3conesOK=
tetartanopia

Anomaloustrichromacy(canmatchany
coloredlightwith3spectrallightsof
differentintensitiesasinnormalvision,
butstillhavecolorperceptionproblems)
Protanomaly
ShiftedLconeresponsecurve
Deuteranomaly(mostcommon)
Shiftediconeresponsecurve
Confusion between red and green .
Tritanomaly
Yellowblueproblems:probably
defectivescones
Neuteranomaly
ineffectivergchannel

Visualizingdichromacy:
protanopia
NoLconefunction

Seeyellows&bluesinsteadofreds&greens

Neutralhuepts.below500nm&non
spectralmagenta;neutrallineclosetorgline
inchromaticitydiagram(effectivelymissing)

Asmoveindirectionofblackarrowsallcolors
alignedwithwhitearrowsonlyhavedifferent
yellownessandblueness,notdifferent
greennessorredness

relativeresponse

Spectral response of cones in protanopic eye

rg

yb

Visualizingdichromacy:
deuteranopia
iconefunctionlacking

Likeprotanopes,theyseeyellows&blues
insteadofreds&greens

Neutralhuepointsnear500nmandnon
spectralpurple
Neutralhuelineclosetothelinejoiningthe
neutralpointsinthechromaticitydiagram
Hence,likeprotonopes,deuteranopesdon't
distinguishgreenfromredverywell

yb

Visualizingdichromacy:
tritanopia
sconefunctionlacking

Theyseeredsandgreensinsteadofblues
andyellows

Neutralhuepointsat570nmandblue
purple;neutralhuelinebetweenneutralhue
pointsinthechromaticitydiagramwhichis
effectivelymissing

Hence,theydon'tdistinguishbluesand
yellowsverywell

Tetartanopeslacktheybchannel

Seesimilarlytotritanopes

rg

Takethecolorblindnesstest
The color blindness test consists
of a set of five charts. Each chart
shows a number in one color on
a different backgound color.
People with normal color vision
will have no problem seeing the
numbers on the charts, but
people with color blindness will
see only random colored dots.
Seventy-five percent of color
blind people have poor green
perception. Of the remaining,
24% have poor red perception,
and one percent are affected by
a rare tritan type.

Theopponencyofredandgreenandofyellowandblue
canbeunderstoodintermsofspecialreceptivefieldsin
ourretinacalleddoubleopponentreceptivefields
Doubleopponentreceptivefieldsin
ourretina
areresponsibleforlateralinhibition,
justlikelightdarkreceptivefields
wehavestudied
enableustonoticesharpcolor
boundariesinthesamewaythat
lightdarkreceptivefieldsallowedus
tonoticesharplightdarkboundaries
exaggeratecolorsoneithersideof
anopponentcolorboundaryinthe
samewaythatlightdarkreceptive
fieldsexaggeratedthelightnessor
darknessoneithersideofthe
boundary

areresponsibleforcolorconstancy
inthesamewaythatlightdark
receptivefieldswereresponsible
forlightnessconstancy
consistofphotoreceptorsina
centersurroundgeometry,all
pooledtoonefinalneuralcell
(ganglioncell)

Therearetwotypesofdouble
opponentreceptivefields(each
pairedwithitsownneuralcell)
Thergreceptivefieldandcell
Theybreceptivefieldandcell

Receptivefieldofadoubleopponent
cellofthergtype
2differentwaystoINCREASEthe
Electricalsignaltobrainfromganglion
cellisatambientlevelwhennolightison
signaltheganglioncellsendstobrain
Redlightfallingonconesin
center
Red
center
ofreceptivefieldattachedto
ganglioncell
Greenlighton
surround
Green

2differentwaystodecreasethe
signaltheganglioncellsendstothe
brain
Redlighton
surround
Red
Greenlightoncenter

centerorsurround
WhensignaltobrainisINCREASEDwe
interpretthatasred
Whensignaltobrainisdecreasedwe
interpretthatasgreen

signaltobrain

Wecansummarizethisbyjustshowingthecenter&
surroundofthereceptivefieldandindicatingtheeffectof
red(R)andgreen(G)oneach
Adoubleopponentcelldiffersfrom
asingleopponentcell
InbothofthemRinthecenter
increasesthesignal
InasingleopponentcellGin
surroundwouldinhibitsignal,
whereasindoubleopponentcellG
enhances

Inadoubleopponentcell
Rincenterenhancessignal
(ganglioncellsignalsred)
Ginsurroundenhancessignal
(ganglioncellsignalsred)
Rinsurroundinhibitssignal
(ganglioncellsignalsgreen)
Gincenterinhibitssignal(ganglion
cellsignalsgreen)

Fictionalcell

realcell

ConceptQuestion:
Whatiseffectofred
lightfallingonboth
thecenterAND
surround?
a)Nocolor
b)Sensationofred
c)Sensationofgreen
d)Sensationof
yellow

ConceptQuestion:
Whatiseffectof
greenlightfallingon
surroundonly?
a)Nocolor
b)Sensationofred
c)Sensationofgreen
d)Sensationof
yellow

ConceptQuestion:
Whatistheeffectof
greenlightfallingon
surroundandredlight
fallingonthecenterof
thereceptivefield?
a)Nocolor
b)Sensationofred
c)Sensationofgreen
d)Sensationof
yellow

Hereisanillustrationoftheeffectofredorgreenlight
fallinginvariouscombinationsonthecenteror
surroundofadoubleopponentrgcell

Strongest
signal
(interpreted
as red)

Note,youwould
still"see"redif
thecenterwere
grey!

Weakest
signal
(interpreted
as green)

Note,youwould
still"see"green
ifthecenter
weregrey!

No change in
signal (color
not noticed)

No change in
signal (color
not noticed)

ybdoubleopponentreceptivefieldsandcellsworkthe
sameway

Strongest
signal
(interpreted
as yellow)

Note,youwould
still"see"yellow
ifthecenter
weregrey!

Weakest
signal
(interpreted
as blue)

Note,youwould
still"see"blueif
thecenterwere
grey!

No change in
signal (color
not noticed)

No change in
signal (color
not noticed)

b+y
y+b

ConceptQuestion:
Whatistheeffectof
bluelightfallingon
surroundofreceptive
fieldonly?
a)Nocolor
b)Sensationofblue
c)Sensationofgreen
d)Sensationof
yellow
e)Sensationofred

Hereisanopticalillusionwhichcanbeexplainedby
doubleopponentretinalfieldsandcells

Lookatthegreysquaresin
yourperipheralvision
Doesthegreysquare
surroundedbyyellowappearto
takeonatint?
Whatcolorisit?

Repeatforthegreysquares
surroundedby
Blue
Green
Red(pink)

Colorconstancydependsondouble
opponentprocessing

Colorconstancymeansweseethe
propercolorsofapictureorsceneor
objectrelativelycorrectlyeventhough
theoverallilluminationmaychange
itscolor
Thisisbecauseourdoubleopponent
receptiivefieldscompareneighboring
colorsandarenotverysensitivetoan
overallchangeincolor
Colorconstancydevelopedinthe
evolutionofmankindsothatwecould
recognizecolorfulthingsinbroad
daylight,lateafternoon,andearly
evening

No change in
signal (color
not noticed)

No change in
signal (color
not noticed)

Illustrationofhowthethreeopponencychannelswork
inyourperceptionofthedesignbelow

Herearetheenhancededges
resultingfromyourybchromatic
channel
Notetheedgesthatseparatea
yellowishfromabluishcolorare
enhancedthemost

Herearetheenhancededges
resultingfromyourrgchromatic
channel
Notetheedgesthatseparatea
reddishfromagreenishcolorare
enhancedthemost

Herearetheenhancededges
resultingfromyourwtblk
achromaticchannel
Comparewiththewayaphotocopy
machinewouldseethedesign

TheartistVanGoghknewhowtousetheopponencyof
yellowandbluetoenhanceeachofthem

Notealsothatweuseyellowletters
againstabluebackgroundinthese
notesforemphasis,althoughwe
preferwhiteingeneral.Redwould
belesseffectivethanyellowbecause
itisnotanopponenttoblue

Negativeafterimagesoccurwhenyoustareatan
imageforalongtimewithoutmovingyoureyes
1

Conditionsfornegativeafterimages

Negativeafterimagesareatemporal
versionoflateralinhibition.

o Prolongedstimulationbyanimageon
theretinaadaptsordesensitizespart
ofretina.
o Thatpartofretinahasaweaker
responsetosubsequenttostimulation.
o DemoFig.7.16

o Insimultaneouslightnesscontrast,a
signalreceivedatadifferentplacein
yourreceptivefieldinhibitsresponse.

Insuccessivelightnesscontrast,a
signalreceivedatalatertimeinhibits
responseinthereceptivefield.

Tryitinhome;