Color Perception

Alan R. Robertson

doi:10.1063/1.881324

Features

/

Article

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:

This article is only available in PDF format

References

1. D. L. MacAdam, Sources of Color Science, MIT P., Cambridge, Mass. (1970).
2. R. M. Boynton, Human Color Vision, Holt Rinehart Winston, New York (1979).
3. L. M. Hurvich, Color Vision, Sinauer, Sunderland, Mass. (1981).
4. R. M. Evans, The Perception of Color, Wiley, New York (1974).
5. R. S. Hunter, R. W. Harold, The Measurement of Appearance, Wiley, New York (1987).
6. B. Berlin, P. Kay, Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution, U. Calif. P., Berkeley (1969).
7. G. Wyszecki, W. S. Stiles, Color Science, Wiley, New York (1982).
8. Y. Nayatani, K. Hashimoto, K. Takahama, H. Sobagaki, Color Res. Appl. 12, 231 (1987). https://doi.org/CREADU
Y. Nayatani, K. Takahama, H. Sobagaki, K. Hashimoto, Color Res. Appl. 15, 210 (1990).https://doi.org/CREADU
9. R. W. G. Hunt, Color Res. Appl. 16, 146 (1991).https://doi.org/CREADU
10. R. W. G. Hunt, The Reproduction of Colour, Fountain P., Kings Langley, England (1975).

More about the authors

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