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WhatisMetamerism?
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MultiStylesWeddingDresses$80$200,TailorMade! www.LightInTheBox.com/WeddingDress Metamerism is a psychophysical phenomenon commonly defined incorrectly as "two samples which match when illuminated by a particular light source and then do not match when illuminated by a different light source." In actuality there are several types of Metamerism, of which the first two described below are most commonly referred to and also most commonly confused: Samplemetamerism: When two color samples appear to match under a particular light source, and then do not match under a different light source this is "sample metamerism." One can conclude that the spectral reflectance distributions of the 2 samples differ slightly, and their plotted reflectance curves cross in at least 2 regions. By illuminating them with lights with consideralby differing spectral power distributions you can
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witness and even exaggerate the visual differences between the 2 samples. The example below is how most remember this is the most commonly experienced form of metamerism.

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1ridiculouslyhugecouponaday.It'slikedoingDCat90%off! www.Groupon.com/WashingtonDC Example: most people have experienced sample metamerism when putting on two socks that appeared to be black while in the bedroom (which may have incandescent lights), but later finding that one is black and the other is blue upon stepping into the kitchen (which may have fluorescent lights). The differences in the wavelength distribution between the incandescent and fluorescent lights interact with the differences in the spectral reflectance curves of the socks to make them appear the same in one light source and different in another. Explanation: Incandescent light bulbs contain relatively little light in shorter (blue) wavelengths, and thus it would be more difficult to distinguish blue colors in such lighting conditions. The fluorescent illumination in the kitchen emits more short-wavelength light, and thus the dark blue can be more easily distinguished from black. In incandescent light, the socks are a "metameric match" in fluorescent light, they do not match. Illuminantmetamerism: Illuminant metamerism is witnessed when you have a number of spectrally matched (exactly the same) samples, but when each is independently, yet simultaneously illuminated and viewed under lights whose spectral power distributions differ. You can perceive significant variations of the color.This phenomenon is rarely witnessed, unless you have a light box that allows you to see both lights separated by a divider, and your 2 identical samples illuminated by the different light sources. Example: When you visit a lighting department of a major home improvement store they will have a bank of lights with dividers in between. Grab a number of identical sample swatches from the paint
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chip department and place one identical sample under each light. Stand back to winess how each illuminant affects the sample. Observermetamerism: Every individual perceives color slightly differently. (Assuming the individuals posess adequate color matching aptitude.) This can be demonstrated in many ways, but suffice it to say, observer metamerism is the reason there were 31 individuals tested to derive the 1931 "standard observer" values adopted by the ISO and are still used as the basis for the majority of color science study today. Geometricmetamerism: Identical colors appear different when viewed at different angles, distances, light positions, etc. It can be argued that one reason men and women often perceive color differently is that the distance between woman's eyes is, on average, slightly less than a man's, and that slightly different angle of stereoscopic viewpoint also falls under the category of geometric metamerism. Graphicartsandcolorreproductionconsiderations: In the printing industry, metamerism is the source of great frustration. It is perceived as a negative characteristic of color, and if it did not exist, color reproduction problems would be eliminated . In actuality, it is this phenomenon of metamerism that allows for mass color reproduction of an artwork.

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Explanation: Artists paint with oils, pastels, crayons, and various dyes and pigments, and each medium has unique spectral reflectance curves. The majority of color reproductions utilize cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks or colorants. In some cases printers incorporate a few additional colors to expand their gamut. But none of these inks are exact spectral matches to the media originally used to produce the original art. Therefore, a printed reproduction of an original artwork reproduction is a metameric match to the original. Inks used to create a color reproduction can be combined to simulate an artwork, but can only be made to accurately match the reproduction under only one (D50 or D65) light source. Because of metamerism it is impossible to generate a color reproduction that can match under every light source. But without the phenomenon of metamerism, mass color reproductions would not be possible and the color reproduction industry as we know it simply would not exist.

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When was the phenomenon of metamerism discovered, and by whom?

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Source: This article is adapted from Wikipedia and licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. Written by L. S. Wynn Edited by L. S. Wynn

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