Scientists unveil 'olo': The new unseen colour phenomenon
Scientists claim they 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 say this does not fully capture the richness of the experience.
What do you need to know?
- New colour: Scientists from the USA have discovered 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, allowing the boundaries of visual perception to be expanded.
- Potential applications: A tool named "Oz Vision" may help in researching colour blindness and diseases affecting vision, such as retinitis pigmentosa.
According to "The Guardian", a team of scientists claims to have "experienced" a colour that no one has seen before.
This bold and controversial statement comes from an experiment in which American scientists used laser pulses to stimulate individual cells of the retina. This allowed them to push the boundaries of perception beyond its natural limits.
Describing the colour is not simple. Five people who have seen it described it as blue-green. However, scientists claim that this does not fully capture the richness of the experience.
Ren Ng, an electrical engineer at the University of California, Berkeley, commented, "It was jaw-dropping. It’s incredibly saturated."
Scientists have released an image of a turquoise square to approximate the colour they called "olo". However, they emphasised that this shade can only be achieved through laser manipulation of the retina.
Austin Roorda, a vision scientist, noted that there is no way to show this colour by describing it in an article or displaying it on a monitor. The colour we see is its version, but it pales in comparison with the experience of "olo".
Why and how do we see colours?
Humans perceive colours when light falls on colour-sensitive cells called cones in the retina. There are three types of cones that react 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 the L cones, while blue light mainly activates the S cones. The M cones are in the middle, and there is no natural light that stimulates them alone.
The team from Berkeley sought to overcome this limitation. They started by mapping a small portion of the human retina to determine the location of its M cones. Then, the laser scanned the retina, emitting a small 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 vision about twice the size of a full moon.
The significance of the discovery. Will we see a new colour?
Scientists believe that the tool named "Oz Vision" will help them explore fundamental scientific questions about how the brain creates visual perception of the world. However, it may have other applications, such as investigating colour blindness or diseases affecting vision, 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 or television display anytime soon. So, we are left with our imagination.
