color vision

the ability to distinguish wavelengths of light to determine the reflectance of surfaces

trichromacy

the ability to see color using three different types of cone cells in the eye

Spectral Reflectance Function

shows the relative amount (%) of reflected light for each wavelength 

short wavelength

blue

medium wavelength

green

long wavelength

red

What is the ‘punchline’ of Young / Helmholtz’s additive color mixing experiments?

you can create any color by just mixing three lights (Red, Green, and Blue)

Why are humans colorblind in the dark?

because our color cones are receptive to wavelengths of light; if there is not enough light, ofc we can’t see color, and our rods take over instead.

Spectral Power Distribution

graph that maps wavelengths coming from a source basically. Usually measured in nanometers of light (wavelength)