hmartin430 t1_j2x7fmz wrote on January 4, 2023 at 4:09 PM

Reply to comment by Prestigious_Carpet29 in How close does one need to bring two coloured lights together to perceive a compound colour effect? by romxza

Ah, so I think my issue might be that I have a lay person's understanding of brightness? I suppose I was thinking as brightness solely as the amplitude of waves. So like, low amplitude is only gonna excite the rods? High amplitude will allow the excitation of cones and at that point frequency will determine which cones are excited? It's been about 15 years since my last physics class, and it was a struggle lol. Definitely not my strength.

kilotesla t1_j2xlq9l wrote on January 4, 2023 at 5:39 PM

>low amplitude is only gonna excite the rods? High amplitude will allow the excitation of cones and at that point frequency will determine which cones are excited?

Yes, and yes, if that helps. Of course, the rods' response is not independent of frequency, but since there's only one type, you have no way to distinguish colors using them.