Abstract
Is Mr. Stromeyer sure that the observations he made (see NATURE, July 14, p. 246) prove any difference in the rapidity of perception of colour, and that they do not rather show a difference in perception of brightness? It is well known that faint objects are not so quickly perceived as bright ones (see Webb's “Celestial Objects,” p. 368 of the 4th edition, under ɛ Pegasi); and as the violet end of the spectrum is much fainter than the rest, the effect described would be produced by the difference in brightness apart from the difference in colour. I have tried Mr. Stromeyer's experiment of rotating the spectrum, and it appears to me that the red as well as the violet end lags behind the middle; though as the red is so much shorter, this is more difficult to see.
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BACKHOUSE, T. The Perception of Colour. Nature 36, 531 (1887). https://doi.org/10.1038/036531d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/036531d0
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