Factors with affect colour vision

Apart from the factors we have already mentioned when speaking of

the physiological mechanism of color ( visual fatigue in respect of
colors , adjustment of the retina .contrast phenomena ) there are
many other factors by which color visions influenced . let us rapidly
examine the most important of them .
1. Wavelengths of radiations
Examination of the sensitivity of the rods and cones to the various
radiations within the spectrum shows that the sensitivity of the rods
is greatest to a wavelength of 510 nm and approaches nil at above
640 nm i.e. the zone in which with photo pic vision the color red
is perceived. So if a person wishes to be able at the same time both
to see and retain his adjustment to darkness (such as some aircraft
pilots and ships officers who have to be read their instruments and
also to look out into the dark)
A source of a red light may be used, or red spectacles: the red will
not appreciably stimulate the rods which will be ready, as soon as
the person take off the spectacles or move or moves out of the
. lighted area, to demonstrate their high sensitivity to light
The sensitivity of cones to the various radiations, on the other hand
reaches its maximum with yellow at 560 nm and gradually
diminishes towards eash end of the spectrum : for instance , the
retina is several hundreds of times more sensitivity to yellow than
. to blue
Yellow and red ,which are more luminous given equal radiant
energy, are called "warm colors " , ass against blue and green ,
." which are called "cold
But wavelength of radiations striking the eye have perhaps more
importance from another point of view, namely that of the influence
of the light on the perception of the colors. a color is normally
distinguished and identified (for instance , if the MUNSELL color
system is used ) by reference to be an object to seen in daylight by
an observer with normal vision and adjusted to that light . What
?happens if we use different lights

There are , of course , various types of artificial light (incandescent

lamp with tungsten filament , mercury vapor lamp ,fluorescent
lamp , etc. ). As regards artificial lighting of which the object is to
provide light similar to natural daylight , it must be pointed out that
in most cases the light so produced has a spectral radiance rather
widely different form that of natural light mercury vapor lamps give
a white blue light which is poor in red radiations . In the light of
tungsten incandescent lamps, on the other hand, red yellow rays
prevail , so that the retinal receivers for red and ,to a lesser extent ,
.for green are more fatigued than the receivers for violet and blue
The result of different spectral composition is that the color of the
object illuminated by the artificial sources of light its perceived as
different form that to which we are accustomed in natural light .For
instance a piece of fresh meat placed on the butcher's slab or the
kitchen table in the fluorescent lighting will appear to be a less full
color and darker than in natural light and so may arouse doubts as
.to its freshness
As a person passes form a daylight to artificial light , or from one
kind of artificial light to another ,even colors which first appeared
the same may no longer appear so . This is because , as I said at the
begging two colors with the same appearance can be produced by a
combinations of radiation of different wavelength : if the two colors
have an identical spectral composition they are called (in relation
one to another )isometric ; if their spectral compositions are
different they are called metameric colors no longer be perceived as
the same . Moreover despite the efforts of manufacturers the
production of an artificial light having a spectral composition
.identical with that of daylight has hitherto proved impossible
So the problem arises of defining in the same way the effects which
." an artificial light produces on colors - called its "color rendering
In 1959 the International Commission of Illumination defined the
color rendering of a light source as
The effect which a given source has on the color of an object in
comparison to its color under source taken as reference . The color
rendering index of a light source is therefore defined as the
measurements of the degree to which the colors of objects when

illuminated by a given source are in conformity with the colour of

the same object when illuminated by a reference source.
In the majority of cases the reference light is natural day light or
the light of an incandescent lamp, which maybe one of the three
standard sources of light , called A, B and C ,proposed by the
Commission in 1931 . These are incandescent lamps with different
characteristics; while source A gives a light similar to that of
ordinary incandescent lamps, source B gives a light similar to the
full light of the sun at noon and source C gives a light comparable to
average day light when the sky is cloudy.
For definition of the color rendering, alight source with the same
chromaticity as the given source is usually chosen, so as to obviate
the interference of chromatic adjustment.
Conformity between the color of an object as illuminated by the
given light source and that of the same object as illuminated by
reference source can be measured on the CIE uniform scale
chromaticity diagram, 1960. Committee 1.3.2. of the International
Commission of illumination is also studying two series of selected
colors for use with a view to more easily specifying the color
rendering of source of light .
2. Luminance of the object
A second factor capable of influencing color vision is the degree to
which the object is illuminated. If this does not exceed 10 -3 cd/m2 ,
perception of colors is quite impossible , since the cones do not
function at that level . If the luminance is increased slightly, the eye
still does not perceive all colors at behaves like a tritanopics, i.e. a
person who retina lacks the visual substance of blue. It has been
supposed that this is due to lesser sensitivity, or a smaller number
of visual receivers for blue than for red or green.
Another thing which depend on the luminance of the object or ,
more precisely , on the degree to which it reflects light is the
differential influence of colors on perception of depth and therefore
for distance . White and yellow objects and, to smaller extent, green
and red ones seem closer than those of the so called achromatic
colors (grey) whereas blue and black objects seem rather more
distant.

3. Distance of the object

Although colors alter perception of distance, it is also true that the
distance and therefore the size of a colored object may affect
perception of its color. If a colored and illuminated object from
which the light is reflected on to the fovea and its immediate
neighborhood is placed at such a distance that extreme points of
the object subtend an angle of 15 (i.e. one quarter of a degree) , the
retina of normal person behaves like that of a tritanopic ( a person
who lacks the visual substance for blue ); and removal of the object
to a great distance may cause absolute achromatopsia. This
explains why blue and violet are not used for signals to be seen at
distance and why its difficult to transmit any colored signals so that
they are perceptible at great distances. It has been supposed that
the above phenomenon may be related to the hypothesis already
mentioned in connection with the vision of an object whose
luminance is slight , and that the receivers for violet and blue in the
retina are less sensitive or less numerous than the receivers for red
and green . Furthermore, as the distance increases the color of the
object rapidly loses purity, especially if the weather is misty. It
should also be brone in mind that the tone of a color may appear
somewhat a deferent to our eyes according to the distance of the
colored object ; for instance , green plants seen close at hand tend
to appear slightly yellow whereas the same plants seen from further
off take on a green blue shade .

4. The background
The background may affect perception of the color of an object not
only by causing the contrast phenomena but also because of the
reflective quality of the background as demonstrated by HELSON et
al , as a result of long research affects the possibility of perceiving
difference in the tone and purity of the color of the object.
5. Filed or vision as regards colors
As already pointed out the field of vision is smaller for colors than
for white light and also varies from color to color. The filed is
greater for blue and decreases through yellow and red to green.

Accordingly, the machine or part of the work environment in which

is desired that the worker should perceive color must be so
situated, in relation to him, that the light which it reflects on the
eye shall fall into the fovea or its immediate neighborhood. If the
light strikes the retina at a distance of 10-20o from the fovea there
will already be an alteration in color vision similar to deuteranomaly
, i.e. reduce sensitivity to green .