Color Perception

DEC 01, 1992

The physical stimulus that causes a color perception can be measured by straightforward physical methods, but predicting the perceived color is much more complex.

DOI: 10.1063/1.881324

Alan R. Robertson

To understand the physics of color, one must first understand the basics of color perception. Color is, first and foremost, a perception. Even though the stimulus that enters our eyes and produces the perception can be described and measured in physical terms, the actual color that we perceive is the result of a complex series of processes in the human visual system. Isaac Newton expressed this clearly in his famous treatise Opticks when he said:

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More about the authors

Alan R. Robertson, Institute for National Measurement Standards, National Research Council, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.