Abstract

With a 1° field presented at 14° in the temporal retina, light-detection thresholds were determined for various numbers of flashes n, with each flash by itself subliminal. When the flash duration t equals the interval i between successive flashes, the threshold luminance I is described by the equation, I = a + (b/n t), where a and b are constants. This equation is analogous to the law of Blondel and Rey, I = a + (b/T), where T is the duration of a single flash. In fact, when t = i, and t equals 5, 10, or 20 ms, a plot of I vs T for single flashes is identical with a plot of I vs nt for multiple flashes. When the interval i is held constant at 30 ms, the total threshold energy E increases linearly with the number of flashes regardless of the durations of the identical flashes in the train. As the interval between two successive subliminal flashes increases, E increases until it reaches a value that is roughly equal to twice its initial value, and thereafter it remains constant.

© 1973 Optical Society of America

Foveal increment thresholds for multiple flashes*

Robert M. Herrick
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 63(7) 870-878 (1973)

Increment Thresholds for Two Identical Flashes*

Robert M. Herrick
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 62(1) 104-110 (1972)

Increment Thresholds for Two Nonidentical Flashes*

Robert M. Herrick and Charles J. Theisen
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 62(4) 588-593 (1972)

The Intensity-Time Relation for Multiple Flashes of Light in the Peripheral Retina*†

Earl Davy
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 42(12) 937-941 (1952)

Increment thresholds with various low background intensities at different locations in the peripheral retina

A. M. M. Lelkens and P. Zuidema
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 73(10) 1372-1378 (1983)