Abstract

We report here a striking dependence of the color of monochromatic light on the spatial proper ties of the stimulus. The subject matched the color of a uniform field to that of a monochromatic grating. The grating and matching field were alternated at 0.5 Hz, and the luminance profile of the field was a 2-D Gaussian (σ = 36 min of arc). Gratings were unity contrast interference fringes with wavelengths of 457, 477, 502, 515, or 633 nm, and the matching field was a mixture of a white near illuminant C and an incoherent variable wavelength monochromatic light. Subjects adjusted the intensity and wavelength of the monochromatic light and the intensity of the white to make a match.

© 1987 Optical Society of America