Become part of our PRiSMA family and receive interesting news about light & color, new products, webinars and much more in our free PRiSMA newsletter!
[prisna-google-website-translator]
Remember how analog photos made interiors look bright orange in the light of incandescent bulbs? Even though we perceived the colors quite naturally!
This is because film material has always been calibrated to a specific light color. The human brain, on the other hand, adapts very flexibly to different light sources and enables us to have a largely stable color perception – an impressive ability known as white balance.
White balance in the human brain is an amazing ability that helps us to perceive colors consistently even in changing light. Our visual system “recognizes” the color of the ambient light through various factors:
When you wear blue light protection glasses, the blue light is blocked in order to protect your eyes. This shifts the color temperature and, depending on the filter strength, the surroundings appear yellowish to orange – a change that can seem unusual at first. However, as with various light sources in everyday life, the brain’s automatic white balance kicks in here too: we register that blue light is missing and subconsciously compensate for this color cast. After a short time, the colors look normal again and the yellow cast is hardly noticeable.
The speed and effectiveness with which our brain compensates for this color change depends on the strength of the filter. The more powerful the filter, the stronger the initial yellow-orange tint. However, the brain compensates for this color tone surprisingly quickly and reliably:
The way our brain perceives and adapts colors is an impressive result of evolution. Researchers around the world are fascinated by the complex processes our brain uses to keep colors stable in changing light conditions. The so-called chromatic adaptation – the ability to compensate for color casts and “correct” white tones – is particularly exciting. What seems entirely normal to us is a highly developed neuronal process that ensures that we perceive the world clearly and consistently despite varying light conditions.
If you are interested in the exciting scientific background, you are sure to find interesting details in the following sources:
Chromatic adaptation: The visual system adapts to dominant wavelengths by using information from the surrounding light and previous visual experiences to perceive colors consistently. For example, this study demonstrates the importance of environmental information for color perception.
Visual neuroplasticity: The human visual system is plastic and adaptive. With repeated use of colored glasses, the brain can “ familiarize itself” with color shifts and interpret them as normal. As a result, the adaptation to the changed colors becomes faster from use to use. (Click here to read an exciting study conducted with red glasses)
Studies on color shift and blue light filtering: Several studies have investigated the effects of blue light filters on color perception and visual well-being. This study finds that despite a significant reduction in phototoxicity when wearing blue light filter glasses, there is no significant difference in color perception:
