PSY280H5 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Additive Color, Retina, Subtractive Color
Document Summary
The visible spectrum (visual spectrum) is the band of wavelengths from 400-700nm that people with normal vision can detect. However the wavelengths is not the only property that governs color vision. Physical stimulus is the wavelength of the light entering eye. Wavelength- the distance between two picks of light energy. Sunlight- mix of many different wavelengths, which blend together to form white light. We cannot discriminate different wavelengths in white light. Raindrops can diffract (spread out) the light into the multiple wavelengths that make up the rainbow . the raindrop act as prism and separate many wavelengths that are mixed together. As they are separated, we can see the individual bands of wavelengths as colors. Artificial sources of light tend to be mixes of multiple wavelengths as well- white light. Normal incandescent light bulbs tend to emit more long- wavelength light than short- wavelength- yellow color. Fluorescent light bulbs tend to have opposite pattern--- blue hue.
