Elsevier

Physica

Volume 10, Issue 7, July 1943, Pages 553-564
Physica

The quantum character of light and its bearing upon threshold of vision, the differential sensitivity and visual acuity of the eye

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Summary

A short introduction is given in § 1. In § 2 it is shown that one quantum of light absorbed by the photo-sensitive material in the eye suffices to give rise to the perception of light. In § 3 some relations are derived that are used in the discussions in § 4 and § 5. In § 4 and § 5 the attention is drawn to the statistical fluctuations in the numbers of quanta perceived and their relation to the limits of differential sensitivity and visual acuity of the eye. It is shown that the limits calculated in this way coincide surprisingly well with the limits actually observed. In § 6 some evidence is presented for the conception that the sensory cells (rods and cones) act in the same way as counters of light-quanta, the more complicated electrical response of single nerve fibers in the optic nerve being caused by the interaction of nerve-cells.

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