Color shapes our perception of the world and informs us about our surroundings. We take our ability to perceive color for granted, but it is actually a complex process that involves multiple components of the eye and brain.

Color Perception

When white light (such as sunlight) hits an object, it is absorbed and radiated back out at a specific frequency. The eye is specially designed to be receptive to a range of frequencies, each of which is perceived as a different color.

Rods and Cones

The eye's retina has two types of specialized light-sensitive cells: rods and cones. Rods detect gray scale, or shading, and cones detect specific light frequencies, or colors.

Cone Types

There are three types of cones: those that detect long wavelengths (or red colors), those that detect medium wavelengths (greens), and those that detect short wavelengths (blues).

Color Information Processing

Cones undergo a chemical transformation as they absorb light. This transformation triggers electrical signals, which move through nerve cells (called retinal ganglion). The nerve cells decide whether the light being received is blue, yellow, red or green.

Color Interpretation

The eye only collects light information, while color perception occurs in the brain. The retina's nerve cells transfer light frequency information to the brain, and the brain interprets and categorizes the information into colors, hues, intensity and brightness.

Source:

Web Exhibits: Seeing Color

Georgia Tech: The Senses---Vision