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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 13, 2026

Scattering And Absorption of Light in Planetary Regoliths
11:34

Scattering And Absorption of Light in Planetary Regoliths

Published on: July 1, 2019

We infer light in space.

James A Schirillo1

  • 1Department of Psychology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, 27109, USA, schirija@wfu.edu.

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|February 26, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Humans infer the light filling three-dimensional space, not just object surfaces. This research explores how we perceive illumination levels and colors in empty space.

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Area of Science:

  • Visual perception
  • Color science
  • Psychophysics

Background:

  • Lightness and brightness are typically studied as surface properties (reflectance and luminance).
  • Previous research has largely ignored the perception of light within empty space.
  • Helmholtz discussed inferred illumination but focused on object surfaces.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the human perception of light within three-dimensional empty space.
  • To explore how we infer illumination levels and chromaticities in volumes of space.

Main Methods:

  • Review of theoretical treatments on inferred illumination.
  • Analysis of research examples supporting the perception of volumetric light.

Main Results:

  • Humans infer the presence of light in seemingly empty space.
  • This perception extends beyond object surfaces to the volume itself.
  • Evidence suggests inference of differential illumination levels and chromaticities in 3D space.

Conclusions:

  • The perception of light in empty space is a significant aspect of visual experience.
  • Human visual systems infer volumetric illumination, not just surface properties.
  • Further research supports the theory of inferring differential light levels and chromaticities in 3D space.