The Eye, Light & Vision

wavelength

distance between waves; determines hue (color)

hue

dimension of color determined by the wavelength of light

intensity

the amount of energy in a light wave (amplitude) that determines brightness

cornea

the clear outer layer that first protects the eye and bends light inward

pupil

the adjustable black opening in the center of the eye that lets light in

iris

the colored ring of muscle that surrounds the pupil and controls its size (how much light enters)

lens

transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to focus images on the retina

retina

the light-sensitive inner structure at the back of the eye containing the rods and cones (receptor cells)

accommodation

the process where the lens changes its shape to focus on near far objects

rods

receptor cells for black, white, and gray; necessary for dim light / night vision

cones

receptor cells for color and fine detail; work best in bright light

optic nerve

the bundle of fibers that carries visual information from the eye to the brain

blind spot

the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there

fovea

the central focal point in the Reina, around which the eye’s cones cluster

opponent-process theory

color vision involved 3 sets of retinal processes that work in opposition (red vs. green, blue vs. yellow, black vs. white)

feature detectors

nerve cells in the brain’s visual cortex that respond to specific features of the stimulus (shape, angle, movement)

parallel processing

the brain divides a visual scene into several sub dimensions (color, motion, form, depth) and processes them simultaneously