Notes

The color matching experiment (Maxwell) is a common technique used to study color vision and color perception. In this experiment, a subject is presented with a test color and is asked to adjust the intensity of three primary lights (usually red, green and blue) to match the color of the test stimulus. The primary lights are mixed together in varying intensities until the subject perceives a color that matches the test stimulus. The process is repeated for several test stimuli, each of which has a different wavelength. The resulting data can be plotted as a color matching function, which shows how the intensities of the primary lights change to match different test stimuli. This experiment provides information about the sensitivity and response properties of the three types of cone cells in the retina. By analyzing the data, researchers can estimate the relative sensitivity of each type of cone cell to different wavelengths of light. They can also identify any anomalies or deficiencies in color vision, such as color blindness or abnormal color discrimination.

Two Metameric Spectral Distributions Color matching experiments reveal two metameric colors, i.e., colors that are different from a physical point of view, but appear identical to us. Referring to the figure below, these two spectral compositions give rise to the same color perception when filtered through the three cones types.