Olo: The Newest Discovery
Researchers have discovered a new colour which only 5 people have seen thus far. Named ‘olo‘, the “remarkable” findings were released in Science Advances. The colour is reminiscent of peacock blue or teal, with its saturation levels deemed “off-the-charts.” Prof Ren Ng, one of the study’s co-authors from the University of California, shared an image of a turquoise square.
However, they imply that this image fails to capture the true richness of the colour they’ve encountered. They also said that people cannot see this colour in daily life. “We’re not going to see olo on any smartphone displays or any TVS anytime soon. And this is very, very far beyond VR headset technology,” says Professor Ng, who believes that the findings could advance research on colour blindness.
How Can You See Olo?
If you wish to see the newly discovered colour, you’d have to undergo a retinal laser manipulation. To perceive it, the researchers subjected themselves to laser pulses directed at their eyes, pushing their visual perception beyond normal limits.
The Team Research
The study comprised five participants—four men and one woman—all of whom had typical colour vision. Among them, three participants, including Prof Ng, were co-authors of the published research paper.
The team examined volunteers’ retinas to identify the positions of the M cones. Through a laser, they scanned each retina and emitted light flashes into the M cone.
The participants engaged with a device known as Oz, which is made up of mirrors, lasers, and optical instruments. This equipment was previously developed by some researchers involved, including a team from UC Berkeley and the University of Washington, and was refined for this specific study. To confirm the colour seen during the experiment, each participant manipulated a controllable colour dial until it corresponded with olo.
This implies that the colour named olo could not be perceived by an individual’s unaided eye in the real world without specialised stimulation.
The Curious Case of the Human Eye
The human eye can discern millions of shades of colour when light strikes the retina’s colour-sensitive cells, cones. The retina, a light-sensitive tissue layer, is located at the back of the eye. It receives and processes visual information. It transforms light into electrical impulses, which are then sent to the brain through the optic nerve, allowing us to perceive images.
There are three types of cones sensitive to different wavelengths: long (L), medium (M), and short (S). While red light activates L cones and blue light triggers S cones, no natural light can stimulate the M cones located in the central region of the retina.
Nevertheless, some experts contend that the newly perceived colour is subject to interpretation.
According to the Paper
According to the research paper, in normal vision, “any light that stimulates an M cone cell must also stimulate its neighbouring L andor S cones,” because its function overlaps with them. In the study, the laser only stimulated M cones, “which in principle would send a colour signal to the brain that never occurs in natural vision.”
What Do The Scientists Say?
Electric engineer Ren Ng says, “We predicted from the beginning that it would look like an unprecedented colour signal, but we didn’t know what the brain would do with it. It was jaw-dropping. It’s incredibly saturated.”
Another scientist, Austin Roorda, spoke, “There is no way to convey that colour in an article or on a monitor. The whole point is that this is not the colour we see, it’s just not. The colour we see is a version of it, but it pales by comparison with the experience of olo.”
Image Courtesy – NewsBytes
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