title: The role of delineation and spatial frequency in the perception of the colours of the spectrum.
abstract: The observations of the spectrum made by Newton, Young, Wollaston and Helmholtz are approximated and accounted for. Increasing the number of delineations allows progressively more bands differing in colour to be perceived, in addition to the three blocks of colour seen in the undelineated spectrum. The rate at which further delineation permits more colours to be observed decreases, however, so that up to 30 colours can be perceived in the subdivided spectrum. The wavelength discrimination measurements agree well with previous data. Enhanced colour discrimination is shown to require luminance contrast transients containing only the first few Fourier harmonics.
authors.affiliation: Physiological Laboratory, University of Cambridge, England.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Smeulders
authors.forename: F W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Andrews
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003118:Color Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D003117:Color Vision Defects / Q000503:physiopathology; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009146:Music; D013053:Spectrophotometry