"The phenomena of ocular spectra and complementary colours... forms a curious chapter in the history of those illusions which take their origin in the eye... [A]fter looking fixedly at a bright light or a striking colour for a few moments the eye preserves an impression of the object for a certain time. A very light window looked at intently for several seconds will leave the impression of its cross bars on the retina for several minutes, the colour of the image changing at every movement of the eye. The same effect may be observed when looking at the setting sun, or a flaring gas light. If the light at which we look is coloured we shall see the complementary colour in the impression left on the retina. Sir David Brewster was one of the first to notice and experiment upon these very interesting facts."
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History of optics
begins with the development of lenses by the ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians, followed by theories on light and vision developed by ancient Greek philosophers, and the development of in the Greco-Roman world. The word optics is derived from the Greek term τα ὀπτικά meaning "appearance or look". Optics was significantly reformed by the developments in the medieval Islamic world, such as the beginnings of physical and physiological optics, and then significantly advanced in early modern Europe
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