Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Color Vision01:24

Color Vision

1.9K
Color perception begins in the retina, the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye. Two main theories explain how colors are seen: the trichromatic theory and the opponent-process theory. The trichromatic theory, proposed by Thomas Young in 1802 and extended by Hermann von Helmholtz in 1852, suggests that color vision is based on three types of cone receptors in the retina. These cones are sensitive to different but overlapping ranges of wavelengths corresponding to red, blue, and green.
1.9K
The Retina01:32

The Retina

78.6K
The retina is a layer of nervous tissue at the back of the eye that transduces light into neural signals. This process, called phototransduction, is carried out by rod and cone photoreceptor cells in the back of the retina.
78.6K
Anatomy of the Eyeball01:20

Anatomy of the Eyeball

11.8K
The eye is a spherical, hollow structure composed of three tissue layers. The outer layer — the fibrous tunic, comprises the sclera — a white structure — and the cornea, which is transparent. The sclera encompasses some of the ocular surface, most of which is not visible. However, the 'white of the eye' is distinctively visible in humans compared to other species. The cornea, a clear covering at the front of the eye, enables light penetration. The eye's middle...
11.8K
Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways01:22

Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways

11.1K
At the molecular level, visual signals trigger transformations in photopigment molecules, resulting in changes in the photoreceptor cell's membrane potential. The photon's energy level is denoted by its wavelength, with each specific wavelength of visible light associated with a distinct color. The spectral range of visible light, classified as electromagnetic radiation, spans from 380 to 720 nm. Electromagnetic radiation wavelengths exceeding 720 nm fall under the infrared category,...
11.1K
Perceptual Constancy01:12

Perceptual Constancy

1.8K
Perceptual constancy is the ability to recognize that objects remain consistent and unchanged even when their appearance varies due to changes in sensory input. There are four main types of perceptual constancy: size constancy, shape constancy, color constancy, and brightness constancy.
Size constancy is the recognition that an object remains the same size, even when its image on the retina changes. For instance, a bus is perceived to be large enough to carry people, even if it looks tiny from...
1.8K
Design Example: Marking Boundaries of a Site Using a Compass01:12

Design Example: Marking Boundaries of a Site Using a Compass

340
Marking site boundaries using a compass is a precise surveying technique that ensures the accuracy of boundary delineation. The process begins by using provided site details, including the bearings and lengths of each boundary line. The initial step involves calculating latitudes and departures for all sides of the site. This computation verifies that the traverse is free of errors, ensuring a closed and accurate boundary.The process starts at a known point, such as Point A, which is often...
340

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

The object-color solid.

Journal of vision·2025
Same author

On the dichromatic object-colour palette.

Vision research·2020
Same author

On Counting Metamers.

IEEE transactions on image processing : a publication of the IEEE Signal Processing Society·2015
Same author

The Achromatic Object-Colour Manifold is Three-Dimensional.

Perception·2015
Same author

Rethinking Colour Constancy.

PloS one·2015
Same author

How metamer mismatching decreases as the number of colour mechanisms increases with implications for colour and lightness constancy.

Vision research·2015
Same journal

Multi-module collaborative optimization-driven fast speckle correlation imaging in variable environments.

Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision·2026
Same journal

Secrecy performance analysis of NOMA-UWOC systems over a vertically stratified WGG oceanic turbulence channel.

Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision·2026
Same journal

Backscattering of plane waves in a composite system containing a rough surface and anisotropic scatterers.

Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision·2026
Same journal

Aspherical surface construction methods based on extended Jacobi polynomials.

Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision·2026
Same journal

OCT sidelobe suppression method based on dual-path phase sinusoidal modulation and minimum value fusion.

Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision·2026
Same journal

Optical design concepts using wavelength-selective diffractive optics to enable miniaturized multimodal endoscopic imaging across separated spectral ranges.

Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 3, 2026

Visualizing Visual Adaptation
04:43

Visualizing Visual Adaptation

Published on: April 24, 2017

9.7K

The color cone.

Alexander D Logvinenko

    Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, Image Science, and Vision
    |September 15, 2015
    PubMed
    Summary
    This summary is machine-generated.

    The color cone, a concept from 19th-century science, is defined as all possible light excitations. The effective visible spectrum, a part of this cone, is determined by photopigment absorbance, not eye filters.

    More Related Videos

    Cone-Enriched Cultures from the Retina of Chicken Embryos to Study Rod to Cone Cellular Interactions
    08:04

    Cone-Enriched Cultures from the Retina of Chicken Embryos to Study Rod to Cone Cellular Interactions

    Published on: March 20, 2021

    4.0K
    Imaging Ca2+ Dynamics in Cone Photoreceptor Axon Terminals of the Mouse Retina
    09:05

    Imaging Ca2+ Dynamics in Cone Photoreceptor Axon Terminals of the Mouse Retina

    Published on: May 6, 2015

    11.4K

    Related Experiment Videos

    Last Updated: Apr 3, 2026

    Visualizing Visual Adaptation
    04:43

    Visualizing Visual Adaptation

    Published on: April 24, 2017

    9.7K
    Cone-Enriched Cultures from the Retina of Chicken Embryos to Study Rod to Cone Cellular Interactions
    08:04

    Cone-Enriched Cultures from the Retina of Chicken Embryos to Study Rod to Cone Cellular Interactions

    Published on: March 20, 2021

    4.0K
    Imaging Ca2+ Dynamics in Cone Photoreceptor Axon Terminals of the Mouse Retina
    09:05

    Imaging Ca2+ Dynamics in Cone Photoreceptor Axon Terminals of the Mouse Retina

    Published on: May 6, 2015

    11.4K

    Area of Science:

    • Color Science
    • Visual Perception
    • Photochemistry

    Background:

    • The concept of a color cone, though present in 19th-century scientific literature (Maxwell, Helmholtz, Grassmann), lacks a precise definition.
    • Existing definitions do not fully account for the relationship between monochromatic lights and the color cone boundary.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To define the color cone as the set of all possible light excitations in cone excitation space.
    • To identify and define the "effective visible spectrum" as the portion of the spectral curve lying on the color cone boundary.
    • To determine the factors limiting the effective visible spectrum.

    Main Methods:

    • Geometric analysis of the color cone as a convex hull.
    • Spectral curve analysis within the cone excitation space.
    • Investigating the influence of photopigment spectral absorbance and prereceptor filters.

    Main Results:

    • The spectral curve of monochromatic lights does not entirely lie on the color cone boundary; its ends extend into the interior.
    • The "effective visible spectrum" is the fragment of the spectral curve on the color cone boundary.
    • The boundaries of the effective visible spectrum are dictated by photopigment spectral absorbance, independent of prereceptor filters like the lens and macular pigment.

    Conclusions:

    • The color cone is formally defined as the convex hull of the effective visible spectrum.
    • The effective visible spectrum represents the range of monochromatic lights that define the color cone's boundary.
    • Photopigment spectral absorbance is the fundamental determinant of the visible spectrum's limits within the color cone.