EFFECT OF FLASHES OF LIGHT ON NIGHT VISUAL ACUITY. PART 2

Abstract

Experiments were conducted to investigate a satisfactory method of predicting the course of constriction of the pupil of a dark-adapted eye when exposed to a flash of any duration or a series of flashes involving a complex distribution of brightness in the visual filed. Two aspects of the problem are considered. If the flash lasts longer than the latent period for pupil constriction, the pupil constriction will affect the amount of light reaching the retina during the latter portion of the flash. Also after the flash, the pupil does not return back to its normal size until after a considerable period of time. The investigation indicated that responses of a dark-adapted eye are proportional to the total amount of light involved (brightness x area x time). This conclusion holds roughly for the central region of the field of view up to 35 deg out from the primary line of sight and for flashes up to 0.2 sec. For flashes longer than 0.2 sec, the effect of varying duration was the same as that of varying brightness, and allowance must be made for the effect of the pupil constriction itself.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1953
Accession Number
AD0013834

Entities

People

  • Glenn A. Fry
  • Merrill J. Allen

Organizations

  • Ohio State University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Boundaries
  • Brightness
  • Constrictions
  • Diameters
  • Electronic Circuits
  • Eye
  • Eye Movements
  • Filaments
  • Frequency
  • Line Of Sight
  • Michigan
  • Modulation
  • Skeletal Muscle
  • Steady State
  • Universities
  • Visible Spectra
  • Visual Acuity

Readers

  • Mathematics or Statistics
  • Vision Science/Vision Psychology/Cognitive Neuroscience.