Scientists discover 'jaw-dropping' new color that can only be seen by some
A new color called 'Olo' has been discovered—but it cannot be witnessed without laser manipulation of the retina
Scientists have discovered a new color, but it can only be seen with the help of a laser.
The new color is called 'Olo', which is a saturated shade of blue-green. The research was published in the Science Advances journal, where scientists from UC Berkeley and the University of Washington had laser pulses fired into their eyes with the help of the Oz Vision System technique.
This technique, named as an ode to the Emerald City in “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, gives people a chance to see beyond the usual gamut of color perception. People can't see the new color unless this process is done.
The study states, "Theoretically, novel colors are possible through bypassing the constraints set by the cone spectral sensitivities and activating M cone cells exclusively."
How was the new color discovered?
The eye has three types of cone cells: S (short), L (long) and M (medium.) Each type is sensitive to different wavelengths of light. By stimulating the M cones, the participants observed a new blue-green color that scientists have dubbed as "Olo."
“We name this new color ‘olo’. Subjects report that olo in our prototype system appears blue-green of unprecedented saturation, when viewed relative to a neutral grey background," the study states.
The study's co-author, Professor Ren Ng from the University of California, stated that the color was "incredibly saturated" and "jaw-dropping."
“We predicted from the beginning that it would look like an unprecedented color signal but we didn’t know what the brain would do with it,” Professor Ng added.
However, the color can only be witnessed through laser manipulation of the retina.
Some claim it is not a "new" color
While the study has been applauded for its technological prowess, some claim that the color is not new.
“It is not a new colour,” said John Barbur, a vision scientist at City St George’s, University of London. “It’s a more saturated green that can only be produced in a subject with normal red-green chromatic mechanism when the only input comes from M cones.”
However, the researchers of the study disagree. They add that 'Oz' might also be the key to understanding how the brain creates visual perceptions of the world, including color blindness and other vision-related diseases.