Scotopic vision
Scotopic Vision
Scotopic vision (/skoʊˈtɒpɪk/; from Greek skotos, "darkness", and -opia, "a condition of sight") is the vision of the eye under low-light conditions. The term comes from Greek skotos meaning "darkness", and -opia meaning "a condition of sight".
Overview
In the human visual system, scotopic vision is the vision of the eye under low-light conditions. The human eye can function from very bright to very dark through the use of two different types of photoreceptor cells, rods and cones. Scotopic vision is produced exclusively through rods, which are most sensitive to wavelengths of light around 498 nm (green-blue) and are insensitive to wavelengths longer than about 640 nm (red).
Scotopic vs Photopic Vision
Scotopic vision occurs at luminance levels of 10^−6 to 10^−3.5 cd/m2. Other species are not universally color blind in low-light conditions. The night vision of cats and other animals is not the same as human scotopic vision.
Photopic vision is the vision of the eye under well-lit conditions (luminance level 10^−3 to 10^8 cd/m2). In humans and many other animals, photopic vision allows color perception, mediated by cone cells, and a significantly higher resolution.
Adaptation
The human eye can adapt to these different vision states and this is known as dark adaptation. This involves the adjustment of the eye to low-light conditions, consisting of a shift from cone-based vision to rod-based vision.
See Also
References
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Scotopic vision
- Wikipedia's article - Scotopic vision
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