Discover the Unseen: Scientists Reveal a Revolutionary New Color Never Before Experienced!

After our long journey on Earth, you might think we’ve experienced every color there is. Yet, a group of scientists in the U.S. is saying otherwise. They claim to have discovered a color that no one has seen before.

In a fascinating experiment, researchers fired laser pulses into the eyes of some volunteers. This wasn’t just for fun; it aimed to stimulate specific cells in the retina. By doing this, the researchers challenged the natural limits of human color perception.

The people who witnessed this new color described it as blue-green. However, they insist this name doesn’t truly capture its brilliance. Ren Ng, an electrical engineer at UC Berkeley, said, “We anticipated we’d see something unique, but the brain’s response was mind-blowing. It felt incredibly vivid.”

To help visualize this novel color, the team shared an image of a turquoise square and named the color “olo.” But they emphasized that the actual experience of olo can only happen through their laser technique. Austin Roorda, a vision scientist on the team, explained, “You can’t truly convey olo in words or on a screen. What we see in our everyday life is only a dull version of it.”

So, how does this work? Humans see colors thanks to specialized cells called cones in the retina. We have three types of cones sensitive to different wavelengths of light: long (red), medium (green), and short (blue). Natural light stimulates these cones together, allowing us to perceive a broad spectrum of colors. However, there’s no natural light that activates just the medium cones alone—until now.

The researchers took a bold step to map individual cones in a person’s retina. They used a laser, carefully targeting each cone. When it hit a medium cone, it sent a pulse of light, just for that cone, allowing it to be stimulated like never before. This method produced a colored patch in their field of vision that was about twice the size of a full moon.

The name “olo” comes from binary code, 010, indicating that only the medium cones were active. While this research is groundbreaking, it has drawn some skepticism. John Barbur, a vision scientist in London, argued that it’s not a “new” color but rather a more saturated green. He described the findings as having “limited value.”

The Berkeley team sees immense potential in their findings. They believe their technique, dubbed Oz vision, could shed light on how our brains interpret what we see. Beyond curiosity, understanding this mechanism might advance research on conditions like color blindness or diseases affecting vision, such as retinitis pigmentosa.

As for whether anyone outside the lab will get to experience olo? Ng said it’s unlikely anytime soon. “This is foundational science. You won’t see olo on smartphones or TVs in the near future, nor is it something you’ll experience in virtual reality devices.”

This discovery not only opens doors to new scientific inquiries but also highlights the fascinating limits of human perception. Exploring colors beyond our experiences could reshape how we understand vision and even pave the way for future innovations in eye care.



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