Five people participating in a study have managed to perceive a new color, which was never seen by the human eye. This happened after using lasers that selectively activated certain cells in the retina, writes the publication on science and technology.
The blue-green hue, called Olo, has a stronger intensity than the normal colors perceived by people.
It is not the first time that researchers stimulate cells with cone, responsible for capturing colors, but this time stimulation has been done on an area that is large enough to change a person's view.
“The novelty in this study is the proof that such new colors can, in fact, be perceived,” says the physicist Sérgio Nascimento, who works at the University of Minho, Portugal
The technique used can generate other new colors
The researchers called the color “Olo”. It resembles peacock blue or turquoise, “but the level of saturation is incredible,” says the researcher at the University of California, Ren Ng. He was also a test participant.
The method by which the new color could be seen is called “oz”, and the technology is called “wizard”. It works by the precise control of the doses of light that reach each cell in the retina.
NG says that the technique can generate other new colors. Also, they could allow people with Daltonism, for whom there are no effective treatments, to perceive differences of shade that they would not otherwise distinguish.
Light capture
People perceive colors when the light reaches the cells with the retina. There are three types of cones, sensitive to long wavelengths (L), medium (m) and short (s) of light.
Because M is in the middle of the spectrum, its activation usually leads to the activation of S or L. NG cells and its colleagues have wondered if, if only M were stimulated, a completely new color would occur.
Natural light stimulates cells L, M and S in different ways. The red light mainly stimulates the L cells, while the blue light activates the S. cells because M is in the middle, there is no natural light that will stimulate them exclusively.
“This is research. We will not see Olo on the phone screens or on TVs too soon. And it is far beyond what VR headphones can offer,” NG added.
Photo source: Dreamstime
