The Sensitivity Dependence on Wave-Length for Foveal and Peripheral Vision and the Fundamental Response Curves

Abstract

The initial process of the visual light-perception is the absorption of light-quanta by the photo-chemical material in the receptors of the eye. The sensitivity of the eye as a function of the wave-length is determined by the absorption power of the several photochemical substances present under the circumstances concerned in the receptors of the illuminated area of the retina and the specific losses of light by reflections and absorptions in the various parts of the eye. Moreover, there may be a dependence on the time of observation or on the visual angle of the test-spot.