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👁️ How does the eye see colour?

Three cone classes sample the spectrum; brain comparisons and constancy build the hues you name.

lessons

~10 min

to learn

🔬 Science

subject

Adults

level

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What you’ll learn

Light hits a living cameraConnect wavelength mixtures, eye optics, and the retina as the detector.Colour starts with spectral light focused onto photoreceptors. Optics deliver the image; the retina begins transduction.
Cones, rods, and opponent codesExplain trichromacy, rod/cone tradeoffs, and opponent processing.Three cone classes enable daylight colour. Rods own the dim world. Circuits compare signals rather than listing wavelengths.
Brain colour and when it failsAdd constancy, colour vision deficiency, and display metamerism.Cortex stabilizes colour under changing lights. Cone differences alter discrimination. Screens fool cones with three primaries.

Questions this course answers

Complete the focusing idea

Cornea and lens must place a focused image on the retina where photoreceptors sit.

Match each piece to its role in seeing colour

Rods handle night grayscale; cones and their comparisons build colour; opponent coding packages the differences.

Why can a white shirt still look roughly white under yellowish indoor light?

Higher visual processing compensates for the colour of the lighting so object colours stay relatively stable.

Grounded in trusted sources

National Eye Institute (NEI) — how the eyes work and colour vision
American Academy of Ophthalmology — anatomy of the eye patient education
Howard Hughes Medical Institute / educational neuroscience summaries of colour vision
CIE and vision-science textbooks on trichromacy, opponency, and colour constancy

Every Wunder lesson is built from real, reputable sources — never invented.

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