PSYCH-UA 1 Chapter Notes - Chapter Chapter 4b: 160-179: Mach Bands, Visual Acuity, Color Vision
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The stimulus: light: many objects in our surroundings the sun, a lamp, etc. Produce light that"s then reflected off most other objects. This reflected light usually launches the process of vision: whether it"s emitted or reflected, the stimulus energy we call light can be understood as traveling waves. These waves can be described in terms of 2 measurements. First, light waves can vary in amplitude, which is the major determinant of perceived brightness wave"s baseline. Light wave"s amplitude is measured as the height of the waves, starting from the. Second, light waves vary in frequency how many times per second the wave reaches its maximum amplitude. These frequencies are extremely high because light travels so swiftly. It"s more convenient to describe light waves using the inverse of frequency wavelength, the distance between the crests of two successive waves. Ultraviolet light, which has wavelength shorter than 360 nanometers, is also invisible to us.