Physics 1230: Light and Color

Exam extra credit assignment due at 5PM

Proto-letters: Look on CULearn

Lecture 15: Colors, additive and subtractive color

mixing, color vision.

Reading: Summer reading!

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 Ch. 9 - Color
We
are Spectral and non-spectral colors
here
Intensity distribution curve
Intensity, hue, saturation
Additive primaries: R, G. B.
Subtractive primaries: C, M, Y
Hair, skin, and eye color
CIE diagram
Lighting, painting and printing
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Spectral colors: The Rainbow (again)

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Spectral colors
Colors by special wavelength
red 650 nm Additive primary color
orange
yellow
green 530 nm Additive primary color
blue 460 nm Additive primary color
(indigo)
violet 400 nm

Mnemonic: Roy G. Biv

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 Additive primaries (more later)

Red
Green
Blue

Red + Blue + Green = White

Most colors can be made by projecting
these on a screen so that the light is added. 5
 Colored light may originate several ways:

A red light emits only red light.

A red paint reflects only red light.
Other wavelengths are absorbed.
A red filter transmits only red light.
Other wavelengths are absorbed.

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Spectral curve shows the relative amount of
each wavelength emitted

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Transmission curve shows the relative
amount of each wavelength transmitted

Transmission of a red filter

100%

400 nm 500 nm 600 nm 700 nm

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OK, so the colors of the spectrum
so is that all we perceive?
A) YES B) NO

No, for TWO reasons:

We can see colors that are NOT in the rainbow

(non-spectral colors)
We perceive some mixtures as spectral when
they are NOT (metamers). 9
 First: Non-spectral colors (mixtures)
Brown = red + green
Turquoise = blue + green
Silver (shiny gray) ?
Pink = blue + red + white
Gold
Plum
Tan
White (red + blue + green)

NOTICE: Not redish green, but BROWN, etc.

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Spectral curves for nonspectral colors
Curves for cyan and magenta include multiple colors.

100%

400 nm 500 nm 600 nm 700 nm 11

 Cyan and magenta are most important
nonspectral colors

Cyan = blue + green

Magenta = red + blue

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Spectral curves for nonspectral colors
Curves for cyan and magenta include multiple colors.

How do we describe this type of spectrum?

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400 nm 500 nm 600 nm 700 nm 13

How would you text someone a color, accurately

Tell them: Intensity, hue, saturation

Intensity
lightness (a source) or brightness (a surface)
Hue: dominant wavelength
red, or 650 nm
Saturation
purity, is the spectral color narrow (pure color) or
broad so that neighboring colors are included

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 Saturation
A saturated red is a narrow band of wavelengths
An unsaturated red is a broad band of
wavelengths

100%

saturated red
unsaturated
red

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400 nm 500 nm 600 nm 700 nm
 Second issue: Metamers
Look the same but have different possible
spectral curves.

Example: Yellow

Two ways to
see yellow:

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 Metamers
Both of these, pure yellow OR a mix of red
and green, appear YELLOW to us.
Newton discovered this effect. He felt that it implied an
imperfection in human vision and a way to probe it.
100 100
% %

400 nm 500 nm 600 nm 700 nm 400 nm 500 nm 600 nm 700 nm

Two ways to see yellow. 17

Mixing light: The Eye does one of two things

1) The eye averages nearby colors to a central value of

wavelength that appears to be a spectral color.
Yellow + red = orange

Or, it could be a nonspectral color:

Blue + green = cyan, turquoise, teal

2) The eye averages distant colors to something

nonspectral.
Red + blue = magenta
Red + green = brown

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 Artists primaries
Artists primaries are blue, yellow, and red.
This is a different nomenclature from what
is used in this course.

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 20
Wikipedia
What color does this spectral curve look like?

Answer: Yellow, although

there is no yellow light
100%

400 nm 500 nm 600 nm 700 nm

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What color does this spectral curve look like?

Answer: White

100%

400 nm 500 nm 600 nm 700 nm

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What color does this spectral curve look like?

Answer: Gray
100%

400 nm 500 nm 600 nm 700 nm

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What color does this spectral curve look like?

gray + red = pink

100%

400 nm 500 nm 600 nm 700 nm

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 Definition: Complementary colors
The complement is the color you would add
to get white.
If R + G + B = White, then

Complement of Red = G + B = cyan

Complement of Green = ?
A) MAGENTA B) RED C) BLUE
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 Complementary colors
Complement of Blue = R + G = Yellow

Yellow + Blue = White

The eye does this, but WHY??

More in a few minutes.

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 Ch. 9 - Color
Spectral and non-spectral colors
Intensity distribution curve
Intensity, hue, saturation
We Additive primaries: R, G. B.
are
here Subtractive primaries: C, M, Y
Hair, skin, and eye color
CIE diagram
Lighting, painting and printing
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 Subtractive primaries
are the complements of the additive primaries
All colors can be projected using 3 lights of additive
primary color, OR 3 subtractive primary inks.

Additive primary Subtractive primary

Red Cyan

Green Magenta

Blue Yellow

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Yellow Magenta

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Wikipedia Cyan
What are the colors shown on this package?

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Ink transmission curves
Magenta = white green

100%

400 nm 500 nm 600 nm 700 nm

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Ink transmission curves
Cyan = white red

100%

400 nm 500 nm 600 nm 700 nm

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Ink transmission curves
Yellow ink (unsaturated) = white blue
(contains green, yellow, orange and red)

100%

400 nm 500 nm 600 nm 700 nm

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 How inks make all colors
No ink = paper = white = R + G + B

Cyan ink + Magenta ink = ?

(blocks red) + (blocks green) blue

Cyan ink + Yellow ink = ?

(blocks red) + (blocks blue) green

Magenta ink + Yellow ink = ?

(blocks green) + (blocks blue) red

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 Ch. 9 - Color
Spectral and non-spectral colors
Intensity distribution curve
Intensity, hue, saturation
Additive primaries: R, G. B.
Subtractive primaries: C, M, Y
Hair, skin, and eye color
We CIE diagram
are
here Lighting, painting and printing
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 Additive and subtractive color mixing

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Why does one figure have a black background and the other is white?
 Concept Question:

White is an equal mixture of red, green and

blue. What is another metamer for white light?

A. Red and cyan;

B. Cyan, magenta and yellow;
C. Blue and yellow;
D. A,B, and C
 Methods of adding colors
1. Addition of illumination:
stage lighting and 3-color TV projector. Projected colors
overlap.
2. Partitive mixing:
closely spaced dots of colors. TV
screens, laptop screens, pointillist paintings,
tight textile weaves, some printing
3. Time mixing:
a rotating color wheel. Its hard to find examples.
4. Binocular mixing:
different color to each eye. The colors "blend" in the
brain.

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 Partitive mixing
is placing colors next to one another so that they are merged in the eye.

Examples:
Pointillist painting
LCD screens
Old TV screens (CRT)
Plasma TVs

Detail from Circus Sideshow

(or Parade de Cirque) (1889)
showing pointillism
Georges Seurat

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Georges Seurat, Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, 40
1884-1886, The Art Institute of Chicago.
 Halftone printing
Halftones (black and white):
The printing plate is covered with dots of different size with the bigger
dots putting more ink than the smaller dots.

Halftones (color)
There is a different halftone printing plate for each of the subtractive
primaries.
High quality color printing (National Geographic, art books) use more
than four inks.
Print resolution is measured in dots per inch. More dots/inch = more
detail.
Typical inkjet: 600 dots per inch but 1200 to 4800 dots per inch (dpi) is
possible

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 Halftone printing black and white

Size of dots determines

amount of black ink.
Newspapers
have 85 lines of
dots per inch.

Magnified First half tone

view 1873
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Wikipedia
Halftone printing - color

Where would I see this?

Sunday comics.

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 Halftone printing - color

Cyan = -red
Magenta = -green
Yellow = -blue

This is the final printed

product of adding the 4
above images.

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Wikipedia
 Ponder:
Are these colors the same?

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 Chapter 10: Color perception

We
are
Trichromacy
here
Metamers
Psychological primaries
Channels
Color deficiency
Animal vision
Temporal processing

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 Trichromacy

You have 3 kinds of color receptors (cones)

Wavelengths: Short Intermediate Long

We know this because we can find the wavelengths absorbed by the cones.

Fig. 10.3 in textbook.

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 Metamers (again)

Yellow (600) looks like red (650) + green (550)

NOTE: No mixture will look like blue or red!!

Yellow stimulates the I and L
Equal amounts of red receptors equally.
and green do too.

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Why blue+yellow looks white

S+I+L stimulated the

same amount as from
white light!

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 How colors are perceived

Blue excites S receptors

Cyan excites S + I
Green excites I mostly
Yellow excites I + L
Orange excites I + L
Red excites L

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 Chapter 10: Color perception
Trichromacy
Metamers
We Psychological primaries
are
here Channels
Color deficiency
Animal vision
Temporal processing

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 Psychological primaries
What is the minimum number of colors you need to
describe any color verbally?

Answer:

Blue Green Yellow Red

Yellow cannot be described as reddish green.

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 Psychological opponents
They are:
red green
yellow blue

We cannot imagine these being added.

There is no bluish yellow or reddish green.

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 Channels
Receptors are wired
into three channels.

1. Yellow minus blue (y-b)

2. Red minus green (r-g)
3. White minus black (w-bk)

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 Channel wiring details

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Example: red and green both turn up the yellow blue channel
 Channels (again)
Here is a review of the way the red minus green channel works
High center signal = red. Low center signal = green. (No negative signals.)
Green surround turns up red at the center.

Strongest Weakest No change in No change in

signal signal signal (color signal (color
(interpreted (interpreted not noticed) not noticed)
as red) as green)

Note, you would Note, you would

still "see" red if still "see" green if
the center were the center were
gray! gray!

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 Channels (again)
Here is a review of the way the yellow minus blue channel works
High center signal = yellow. Low center signal = blue. (No negative signals.)
Blue surround turns up yellow at the center.

Strongest Weakest No change in No change in

signal signal signal (color signal (color
(interpreted (interpreted not noticed) not noticed)
as yellow) as blue)

Note, you would Note, you would

still "see" yellow if still "see" blue if
the center were the center were
grey! grey!

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 Color constancy

Your visual perception system corrects for

changes in lighting (red sunset, for example) so
that colors remain relatively constant.

If the light is red, the visual system adds green.

If the light is yellow, it adds blue.

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Are these colors the same?

Lateral inhibition works for color channels.

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 Signal processing
Simultaneous color contrast
Lateral inhibition applied to r-g or y-b channels.
Example:

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Simultaneous color contrast (again)

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Lateral inhibition (again)

What color is the

wide line?

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Lateral inhibition (again)

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 Chapter 10: Color perception
Trichromacy
Metamers
Psychological primaries
Channels
We Color deficiency
are
here Animal vision
Temporal processing

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 Color deficiency
(not color blindness)

Several kinds of color vision problems:

Wavelength of one kind of cone is shifted
One type of cone missing (S, I or L)
Channel wiring is incorrect (r-g, y-b)

Some texts say S,M,L not S,I,L.

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 Color vision anomalies

X X 1%
1%

1% 5%

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bookshelf/br.fcgi?book=gene&part=rgcb&rendertype=figure&id=rgcb.F2
 Names for color deficiencies
Trichromats ("three colors"): persons with one of the color channels
shifted slightly from the usual band of wavelengths.
Dichromats ("two colors"): persons missing one type of cone or one
of the two color channels (r-g or y-b).
Deuteranomalous: A kind of trichromat. About 5% of males. I
channel is incorrect in wavelength nearer to red.
Missing cone types:
Protanope: a person lacking an "L" (red) type cone. About 1% of
males.
Deuteranope: a person lacking an "I" (green) type cone.
About 1% of males.
Tritanope: a person lacking S (blue) cones

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 Why are males more likely to be color deficient?

8% of males and 0.5% of females have

deficiency.
Women have two x chromosomes, men one.
In women, vision is ok if either one is good.
In men, if the x is bad, thats bad.

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 Chapter 10: Color perception
Trichromacy
Metamers
Psychological primaries
Channels
Color deficiency
We Animal vision
are
here Temporal processing

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 Animal vision

Determined by survival needs

predator/prey relation,
predators: eyes in front (hawks, lions)
prey: eyes on the side (cows, frogs)
mate finding
finding food

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 Animal vision examples
Bees: 3 color receptors,
shifted toward blue (matches flowers)
Squirrels: 2 colors
blue (sky) and green (foliage)
Birds: good color vision
color vision helps find mates: cardinals, robins
Fish: good color vision
bright coloring helps blend with corals
color vision helps find mates
Cats and owls:
poor color vision, see movement well
(mice are not brightly colored)

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 Animal night vision
Owls: larger eyes and pupils
Fewer or no cones, mostly rods

Cats: Tapetum lucidum (bright carpet)

Reflects light backward through retina

Extra sensitivity is a disadvantage in daytime:

Hence slit-like pupils to reduce bright daylight

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 Animal underwater vision
510-540 nm (blue-green) goes furthest in
water.
Bulging eyes help correct for less
refraction because cornea and water have
similar indices of refraction.
Visit:
http://www.ebiomedia.com/Eyes/Whos-
Eye1.html

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 Butterfly vision
Butterflies have color constancy. They go to yellow
even if the illumination changes color.
Butterflies may have 5 color channels, including UV.

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 Chapter 10: Color perception

Trichromacy
Metamers
Psychological primaries
Channels
Color deficiency
Animal vision
We
are
Temporal processing
here

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 Temporal processing
Negative afterimage:
Look at a strong color, then white paper.
Fatigue of nerves causes a negative afterimage.
Example: Stare at red, then white,
You will see cyan (white red)

Positive afterimage:
Strongly stimulated nerves keep firing

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Happy 4th of July !
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 A good place to stop.
Great to have you here!
Enjoy the rest of the summer.

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