Scientists uncover unseen shade, 'olo', with groundbreaking tech
Scientists claim to have discovered a colour that no one has seen before. Importantly, this shade can only be achieved through laser manipulation of the retina. Five people who have seen it described it as blue-green. However, they insist that this description doesn't fully capture the richness of the experience.
What you need to know:
- New colour: Scientists from the U.S. have found a colour that can only be seen through laser manipulation of the retina.
- Research method: The experiment involved using laser pulses to stimulate retinal cells, pushing the boundaries of visual perception.
- Potential applications: A tool named "Oz Vision" could aid research on colour blindness and diseases affecting vision, such as retinitis pigmentosa.
According to "The Guardian," a scientific team claims they have "experienced" a colour no one has seen before.
This bold and controversial claim arises from an experiment in which American scientists used laser pulses to stimulate individual retinal cells. As a result, they extended perception beyond its natural boundaries.
Describing the colour is not simple. Five people who saw it described it as blue-green. However, scientists insist this description doesn't fully convey the richness of the experience.
- It was jaw-dropping. It’s incredibly saturated - says Ren Ng, an electrical engineer from the University of California at Berkeley.
Scientists have shared a picture of a turquoise square to give an idea of the colour they have named "olo." They emphasized, however, that this shade can only be achieved through laser manipulation of the retina.
Austin Roorda, a vision scientist, pointed out that there is no way to display this colour by describing it in an article or showing it on a monitor. The colour we see is its version, but it pales in comparison with the "olo" experience.
Why and how do we see colours?
People perceive colours when light hits the colour-sensitive cells called cones in the retina. There are three types of cones that respond to different wavelengths of light: long (L), medium (M), and short (S).
Natural light is a mixture of many wavelengths that stimulate the L, M, and S cones to varying degrees. Red light primarily stimulates L cones, whereas blue light mainly activates S cones. M cones are in the middle, and there is no natural light that stimulates them exclusively.
The team from Berkeley decided to overcome this limitation. They started by mapping a small portion of the human retina to determine the location of its M cones. Then a laser scanned the retina, emitting a slight light pulse to stimulate a cell before moving to the next cone.
The result, published in Science Advances, is a patch of colour in the field of view about twice the size of a full moon.
The significance of the discovery. Will we see the new colour?
Scientists believe that the tool named "Oz Vision" will help them explore fundamental scientific questions about how the brain creates the visual perception of the world. However, it may have other uses, such as studying colour blindness or diseases like retinitis pigmentosa.
Will the rest of the world have a chance to experience "olo"? Ren Ng explained that this is basic science, and, unfortunately, we will not see "olo" on any smartphone display or TV anytime soon. So imagination is what we have left.
