Seeing - 3 introductory lectures on the physics of sight

Web version to mark the International Year of Light - 2015

Active diagrams demonstrated in the lectures will not function on the web slides. See the active links at the end of this section.

 

  • Lecture 1: Seeing 1 - Light and lens imaging (pdf) and lecture summary pages (pdf). Lecturer's notes (pdf)
  • Lecture 2: Seeing 2 - The retina and colour vision (pdf) and lecture summary pages (pdf) Lecturer's notes (pdf)
  • Lecture 3: Seeing 3 - Measuring light and seeing more (pdf) and lecture summary pages (pdf) Lecturer's notes (pdf)

    Active diagrams (though applets work only on some platforms):

  • Blackbody java applet, showing light spectrum with changing hot body temperature
  • Colour mixing (1), Colour mixing game
  • Raster imaging
  • Thin lens imaging

    Active programs (when you get to the link, download, unzip and run):

  • Colour mixing (2)
  • Maxwell colour triangle
  • CIE chromaticity chart
  • RGB colours; HSV colours

    Web pages on:

  • Colour vision tests
  • IR imaging
  • The Candela

  • Physics home

    John S. Reid
    Last updated April 2015