The Fechner color effect is an illusion of color seen when looking at certain rapidly changing or moving black-and-white patterns. They are also called pattern induced flicker colors (PIFCs).
The effect is most commonly demonstrated with a device known as Benham's top (also called Benham's disk). When the top is spun, arcs of pale color are visible at different places on the disk that forms its upper surface. The effect can also be seen in stroboscopic lights when flashes are set at certain critical speeds. Rotating fan blades, particularly aluminum ones, can also demonstrate the effect; as the fan accelerates or decelerates, the colors appear, drift, change and disappear. The stable running speed of the fan does not (normally) produce colors, suggesting that it is not an interference effect with the frequency of the illumination flicker.
The perceptual mechanism of Fechner color is not entirely understood. One possible reason people see colors may be that the color receptors in the human eye respond at different rates to red, green, and blue. Or, more specifically, that the latencies of the center and the surrounding mechanisms differ for the different types of color-specific ganglion cells.
The phenomenon originates from neural activity in the retina and spatial interactions in the primary visual cortex, which plays a role in encoding low-level image features, such as edges and spatiotemporal frequency components.[2] Research indicates that the blue-yellow opponent process accounts for all the different PIFCs.[3]
Benham's top and other PIFCs are being researched for use as a diagnostic tool for diseases of the eye and the visual track. It has shown particular promise in detecting optic neuritis.[4]
Benham's top is named after the English newspaper-man, amateur scientist, and toymaker Charles Benham, who in 1895 sold a top painted with the pattern shown. Benham was inspired to propagate the Fechner color effect through his top after his correspondence with Gustav Theodor Fechner, who had observed and demonstrated the said effect. Benham's top made it possible for speakers of the English language to learn of the Fechner color effect, about which Fechner's original reports were written in German.
A more convincing interactive version from Michael Bach
March 18, 2023
fechner, color, effect, illusion, color, seen, when, looking, certain, rapidly, changing, moving, black, white, patterns, they, also, called, pattern, induced, flicker, colors, pifcs, effect, most, commonly, demonstrated, with, device, known, benham, also, cal. The Fechner color effect is an illusion of color seen when looking at certain rapidly changing or moving black and white patterns They are also called pattern induced flicker colors PIFCs The effect is most commonly demonstrated with a device known as Benham s top also called Benham s disk When the top is spun arcs of pale color are visible at different places on the disk that forms its upper surface The effect can also be seen in stroboscopic lights when flashes are set at certain critical speeds Rotating fan blades particularly aluminum ones can also demonstrate the effect as the fan accelerates or decelerates the colors appear drift change and disappear The stable running speed of the fan does not normally produce colors suggesting that it is not an interference effect with the frequency of the illumination flicker A sample of a Benham s top animated version The effect was noted by Gustav Fechner and Hermann von Helmholtz and propagated to English speakers through Charles Benham s invention of his top Florence Winger Bagley was one of the early investigators of this phenomenon 1 The perceptual mechanism of Fechner color is not entirely understood One possible reason people see colors may be that the color receptors in the human eye respond at different rates to red green and blue Or more specifically that the latencies of the center and the surrounding mechanisms differ for the different types of color specific ganglion cells The phenomenon originates from neural activity in the retina and spatial interactions in the primary visual cortex which plays a role in encoding low level image features such as edges and spatiotemporal frequency components 2 Research indicates that the blue yellow opponent process accounts for all the different PIFCs 3 Benham s top and other PIFCs are being researched for use as a diagnostic tool for diseases of the eye and the visual track It has shown particular promise in detecting optic neuritis 4 Contents 1 Benham s top 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksBenham s top EditBenham s top is named after the English newspaper man amateur scientist and toymaker Charles Benham who in 1895 sold a top painted with the pattern shown Benham was inspired to propagate the Fechner color effect through his top after his correspondence with Gustav Theodor Fechner who had observed and demonstrated the said effect Benham s top made it possible for speakers of the English language to learn of the Fechner color effect about which Fechner s original reports were written in German See also EditNewton discReferences Edit Bagley Florence Winger 1902 An investigation of Fechner s colors American Journal of Psychology 14 4 488 525 von Campenhausen C Schramme J 1995 100 years of Benham s top in colour science Perception 24 6 695 717 doi 10 1068 p240695 PMID 7478909 Schramme J 1992 Changes in pattern induced flicker colors are mediated by the blue yellow opponent process Vision Research 32 11 2129 34 doi 10 1016 0042 6989 92 90074 S PMID 1304090 Pilz J Marre E 1993 Pattern induced flicker colors An ophthalmologic examination method Article in German Ophthalmologe 90 2 148 54 PMID 8490297 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Benham s top Online Java demonstrations of Fechner color Benham s Disk Interactive version Archived 2021 11 10 at the Wayback Machine by Michael Bach A more convincing interactive version from Michael Bach Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fechner color amp oldid 1140369177, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
