Scientific papers of C.V. Raman: Volume VI : floral colours and visual perception

Abstract

Volume VI of the Scientific Papers of C.V. Raman contains the work Raman did in the last decade of his life. It also contains the charming monograph he wrote entitled the Physiology of Vision. Raman brings out the important point that the characteristics of human vision that play an important role in the perception of color are as important in deciding a quality of a gem or a mineral as its optical properties. A simple method is given by which one could actually view one's own retina and explore its behavior under various spectral excitations. Raman studies in detail the remarkable but not too widely known faculty of the unaided eye to recognize polarized light and also locate its plane of polarization. Raman investigates the incredible power of the eye to discriminate colors differing by as little as 10 angstroms. The book is full of simple experiments in wavelength which can be set up and that illustrate many unforeseen aspects of the perception of light and color.