In this cool No Red Tomato Illusion by Akiyoshi Kitaoka, there is no red tomato in the image. The color red is an illusion created by a phenomenon known as the Bezold effect through the careful use of only blue, yellow, and white stripes.
If you are interested in learning more about the No Red Tomato Illusion and the Bezold Effect, scroll down to read more about it.
Table of Contents
- What is the No Red Tomato Illusion?
- How does the No Red Tomato Illusion work?
- Some Similar Illusions
- Discovery of the No Red Tomato Illusion
- References and Resources
What is the No Red Tomato Illusion?
The No Red Tomato Illusion creates the appearance of a red tomato using only blue, yellow, and white lines. This illusion is due to a phenomenon known as the Bezold Effect.
The Bezold effect is a phenomenon in which a change in the color of a small area can produce a significant shift in the perception of the color of a larger area. Specifically, the Bezold effect refers to the perceived change in hue, saturation, or brightness of a color when it is surrounded by different colors.
For example, if a small red square is surrounded by a larger blue square, the red square may appear darker, more desaturated, or even a different color entirely, such as purple. This effect is named after Wilhelm von Bezold, a German professor who studied color perception in the late 19th century. The Bezold effect is a well-known and widely studied phenomenon in the field of color perception and has practical applications in design and visual arts.
How does the No Red Tomato Illusion Work?
The No Red Tomato Illusion creates the appearance of a red tomato using only blue, yellow, and white lines. This illusion is due to a phenomenon known as the Bezold Effect.
The Bezold effect is thought to occur due to the way our visual system processes color information. Our eyes and brain work together to interpret the light that enters our eyes as colors, and this process is influenced by the colors that surround a particular area.
One explanation for the Bezold effect is that the colors surrounding a particular area can stimulate different types of color-sensitive cells, called cones, in our eyes. When a color is surrounded by a different color, the cones that are stimulated by the surrounding color can “bleed” into the cones that are responsible for detecting the color of the central area, leading to a perceived shift in the color of the central area.
Additionally, the Bezold effect may be influenced by the brightness and contrast of the surrounding colors. Brighter or more highly contrasted colors may have a stronger effect on the perceived color of the central area.
The exact mechanisms behind the Bezold effect that create the No Red Tomato Illusion are still being studied and debated in the field of color perception. However, it is clear that the effect can significantly impact our perception of color and has practical applications in areas such as graphic design and visual arts.
Some Similar Illusions
There are several other color illusions that are similar to the Bezold effect that creates the No Red Tomato Illusion in that they also involve the perception of color being influenced by the colors that surround it. Here are a few examples:
- Simultaneous Contrast Illusion: This illusion occurs when a color appears to change depending on the colors that surround it. For example, a gray square may appear darker when surrounded by a light color and lighter when surrounded by a dark color.
- Color Assimilation Illusion: This illusion occurs when a color appears to change to a color that is more similar to the colors surrounding it. For example, a blue square surrounded by green may appear to take on a greenish hue.
- Contrast Illusion: This illusion occurs when the brightness or saturation of a color appears to change depending on the colors surrounding it. For example, a red square may appear brighter or more saturated when surrounded by gray than when surrounded by white.
- White’s Illusion: This illusion occurs when two colors of the same brightness appear to be different due to their surrounding colors. For example, two gray squares may appear to be different shades of gray when surrounded by different colors.
These illusions and others like them demonstrate the complex ways in which our visual system interprets and processes color information.
Discovery of the No Red Tomato Illusion
The No Red Tomato Illusion was created by Akiyoshi Kitaoka, a Japanese psychologist and visual perception expert who is known for his research on visual illusions and his creation of many famous optical illusions. He is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan.
The No Red Tomato Illusion relies on a phenomenon known as the Bezold Effect which was named after Wilhelm von Bezold, a German professor of meteorology and geography who studied color perception and vision in the late 19th century.
Bezold made several important contributions to the field of color perception, including his work on the effects of color on atmospheric phenomena such as rainbows and sunsets.
The Bezold effect, which refers to the perceived change in color of a small area when surrounded by different colors, was first described by Bezold in his book “The Theory of Color in Its Relation to Art and Art-Industry,” which was published in 1874.
References and Resources
In addition to the No Red Tomato Illusion, check out our complete list of illusions and this awesome Crescent Moon Bridge Illusion and this cool Arrow Illusion and awesome Rotating Circles Illusion and Swaying Columns Illusion