[Seany (OP)]

Apparently (according to my daddy!) the colour green is good for our eyes! If it is, how come?

[Batroost]

Hi Sean?y,

Must admit I can't think of any reason why green light should be good for the eyes. Being in the middle of the visible spectrum it is what our eyes have evolved to see, but it is going to cause chemical reactions in the cells of the retina in a similar way to other colours of light. Having said that most people seem to find green light restful - perhaps this is simply an association with trees and grass that makes us 'feel good'?

Batroost

[Seany (OP)]

Hmmm maybe.. Also seeing far away helps to relax, because our eyes get more parallel.. Unlike if we see a hand infront of us, its less parallel

[neilep]

I had a leaf poke me in the eye...it was green and was not good for my eye !!

I think ewe should get your dad on here to explain himself.

But remeber...he's your daddy and he is the best daddy in the whole world !!

[Seany (OP)]

LOL.. Erm.. Thanks for that []

[Karen W.]

Green makes me feel fresh and alive I suppose because of plants trees etc.. It just feels alive.. I have liked green for years.. Not when I was a kid .. young adult it was hunter green, burgundy and Tan My wedding colors..LOL..then I moved to green now I still love green but enjoy the variety of colors but have noticed no real effect on me eyes except many things in my house are green! LOL

[another_someone]

Green is the area of the colour spectrum where the eye's have the greatest sensitivity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_vision

Representation of the colors each type of cone cell is most responsive to. Note that these colors do not correspond to Red, Green and Blue.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color#Color_perception

The CIE 1931 color space chromaticity diagram. The outer curved boundary is the spectral (or monochromatic) locus, with wavelengths shown in nanometers. Note that the colors depicted depend on the color space of the device on which you are viewing the image, and therefore may not be a strictly accurate representation of the color at a particular position, and especially not for monochromatic colors.

[Bored chemist]

I thought that was yellow (at least that's the excuse they give for low pressure sodium lights).
If this site
http://www.rwc.uc.edu/koehler/biophys/6d.html
is right then the maximum sensitivity is near 600 nm which is orange/yellow.
I wnoder if it's just by association with nice leafy scenery that makes people relax. It used to be used in hospitals a lot and also in the "green rooms" in theatres. I guess they thought it was calming.
On the other hand, my Grandmother thought green was unlucky and wouldn't wear it (there may have been political overtones to that too)

[lyner]

Interesting; the picture of  the peaks in the three analyses of the cone cells. The 'red end' sensitivity is very broad, of course. We 'see' red by subtracting one output from the other. Anything that isn't detected by the mid-band receptor but is detected by the long wavelength receptor is seen as saturated red. Any colour 'less red' than that appears in between red and green.
And then there are the 'non-spectral' colours with  mixtures of reds and blues  but no greens;  the ones along the bottom of the CIE colour space.
It is important to remember that 'wavelength' is not 'colour'. Colour is all in your head.
No wonder we all have different ideas about colour matching; it's such a complicated business.
And WHY does my damn spellchecker tell me COLOUR  is spelled wrong?

[another_someone]

On the other hand, my Grandmother thought green was unlucky and wouldn't wear it (there may have been political overtones to that too)

Not so much political, as I understand that in the past green paints often contained arsenic.  In normal conditions, this was not really a problem, but in damp conditions (particularly if it was a little moldy), the arsenic could get into the environment within the room.

[another_someone]

It is important to remember that 'wavelength' is not 'colour'. Colour is all in your head.
No wonder we all have different ideas about colour matching; it's such a complicated business.

It is also that everybody has slightly different variations of cone sensitivity, with slightly different peek wavelengths for the different cones.

One interesting thing I came across when looking up the material for this was that because the genes for the cones are on the X chromosome, and women have 2 X chromosomes, that about 2-3% of women might be tetrachomatic rather than trichromatic (i.e. can differentiate 4 colours not merely 3 colours).

The other factor is that in low light the rods come into play, and these add a different colour to our perception (in very low light, we only see monochromatic images from the rods, but there is an overlap where we see the spectrum from the rods but still have some perception from the cones).

[Bored chemist]

Believe me, if you are a member of the "wee free" church, the dislike of green is nothing to do with arsenic and a lot to do with associations with the Catholic church.

[another_someone]

Believe me, if you are a member of the "wee free" church, the dislike of green is nothing to do with arsenic and a lot to do with associations with the Catholic church.

Interesting that green is associated with Catholicism, as it is also associated with Islam, and ofcourse with the more modern 'Green' political movement.

[tony6789]

I had a leaf poke me in the eye...it was green and was not good for my eye !!

I think ewe should get your dad on here to explain himself.

But remeber...he's your daddy and he is the best daddy in the whole world !!

rotfl

[Batroost]

It is also that everybody has slightly different variations of cone sensitivity, with slightly different peek wavelengths for the different cones.

And I've found that my eyes have a different sensitivity to blue light. I can change the colour that blue-grey objects appear by looking at them through just one eye at a time.

[another_someone]

It is also that everybody has slightly different variations of cone sensitivity, with slightly different peek wavelengths for the different cones.

And I've found that my eyes have a different sensitivity to blue light. I can change the colour that blue-grey objects appear by looking at them through just one eye at a time.

When you say that you can change the colour - the key issue is whether you can change the discrimination of colour.

I.e. do you find situations where, if you look at three objects of similar colours, and you look at them through your left eye, objects A and B have the same colour, but object C has a different colour; but if looking through your right eye, objects B and C have the same colour, but object A has a different colour?

[guest6180]

BenV and I constantly have arguments over whether something is blue or green or sometimes if something is grey or green.  Is this similar to what you experience?

[lyner]

I saw a green movie once. Not much fun at all.

[Bored chemist]

Was it "an inconvenient truth"?
and er, not to put to fine a point on it, have you seen any other colour movies?

[Seany (OP)]

What do you mean colour movies?