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Concept
Color blindness
Summary
Color blindness or color vision deficiency (CVD) is the decreased ability to see color or differences in color. It can impair tasks such as selecting ripe fruit, choosing clothing, and reading traffic lights. Color blindness may make some academic activities more difficult. However, issues are generally minor, and people with colorblindness automatically develop adaptations and coping mechanisms. People with total color blindness (achromatopsia) may also be uncomfortable in bright environments and have decreased visual acuity.
The most common cause of color blindness is an inherited problem or variation in the functionality of one or more of the three classes of cone cells in the retina, which mediate color vision. The most common form is caused by a genetic disorder called congenital red–green color blindness. Males are more likely to be color blind than females, because the genes responsible for the most common forms of color blindness are on the X chromosome. Females who are not color-blind can carry genes for color blindness and pass them on to their children. Color blindness can also result from physical or chemical damage to the eye, the optic nerve, or parts of the brain. Screening for color blindness is typically done with the Ishihara color test.
There is no cure for color blindness. Diagnosis may allow an individual, or their parents/teachers to actively accommodate the condition. Special lenses such as EnChroma glasses or X-chrom contact lenses may help people with red–green color blindness at some color tasks, but they do not grant the wearer "normal color vision". Mobile apps can help people identify colors.
Red–green color blindness is the most common form, followed by blue–yellow color blindness and total color blindness. Red–green color blindness affects up to 1 in 12 males (8%) and 1 in 200 females (0.5%). The ability to see color also decreases in old age. In certain countries, color blindness may make people ineligible for certain jobs, such as those of aircraft pilots, train drivers, crane operators, and people in the armed forces.
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Primary color
A set of primary colors or primary colours (see spelling differences) consists of colorants or colored lights that can be mixed in varying amounts to produce a gamut of colors. This is the essential method used to create the perception of a broad range of colors in, e.g., electronic displays, color printing, and paintings. Perceptions associated with a given combination of primary colors can be predicted by an appropriate mixing model (e.g., additive, subtractive) that reflects the physics of how light interacts with physical media, and ultimately the retina.
Color blindness
Color blindness or color vision deficiency (CVD) is the decreased ability to see color or differences in color. It can impair tasks such as selecting ripe fruit, choosing clothing, and reading traffic lights. Color blindness may make some academic activities more difficult. However, issues are generally minor, and people with colorblindness automatically develop adaptations and coping mechanisms. People with total color blindness (achromatopsia) may also be uncomfortable in bright environments and have decreased visual acuity.
Eye
Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and convert it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones).