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Absorption of white light in photoreceptors

Vision Research, ISSN: 0042-6989, Vol: 38, Issue: 2, Page: 195-207
1998
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  • Citations
    166
  • Captures
    129
  • Social Media
    1
    • Shares, Likes & Comments
      1
      • Facebook
        1

Article Description

The fraction F of incident light absorbed by a photoreceptor of length l has traditionally been given by F =1 -e−kl, where k is the absorption coefficient of the photoreceptor. Unfortunately, this widely-used expression is incorrect for absorption of the type of light most common in natural scenes—broad spectrum “white” light—and significantly over-estimates absorption. This is because the measured values of k are only valid at the absorbance peak wavelength of rhodopsin, whereas at other wavelengths (which the eye may also see) k is lower. We have accounted for the wavelength dependence of k and calculated the absorption of white light from four different natural radiant sources: the quantal irradiances of natural daylight and a patch of very blue sky, and the quantal reflections of soil and green foliage irradiated by natural daylight. Based on these results, a simple averaged correction for white light stimulation is derived, F = kl /(2.3 + kl ), which is valid for a wide range of k and l, and therefore applicable to both vertebrate and invertebrate photoreceptors.

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