Colour and lighting in hospital design

Little information or guidance has been available to assist the development of a hospital's visual environment. A report on lighting and colour design schemes, accessible to non professionals with responsibility for refurbishment strategies, was required by NHS Estates. Firstly, 20 hospitals were audited to establish a picture of current practice and to identify key issues where colour design could broadly enhance the environment for patients, staff and visitors. Critical areas were outlined in this report, where colour design can be utilised and applied, for the benefit of all users, from ambience to essential legal requirements such as colour contrast for the visually impaired.Provision of staff relaxation rooms that are different in terms of colour and lux levels from immediate work spaces, or thoughtfully designed areas for patients awaiting intensive treatment, have been shown to have some beneficial effects on a sense of well being. Colour and design have not been established as a definite cure for sickness and ill health, but certainly monotony and poor conditions in premises that have not been refurbished with any care, have had a detrimental affect on recovery rates and staff morale. The realisation that a well balanced and attractive environment is of major importance to patients’ health is, in no way new; Florence Nightingale observed that ‘a variety of form and brilliance of colour in the objects presented to patients are an actual means of recovery’.     

Contemporary artists and colour: Meaning, organisation and understanding

What implications do the ranges of traditional and non-traditional media used by contemporary artists have for understanding the selection and specification of coloured materials? Interviews with prominent artists explore their use of colour and their views on the role of colour in their work. The paper establishes that the interview respondents operate successfully within a professional and permeable frame of reference, with different approaches to determination of colour meaning. The colour propositions of neuroscience, psychophysics and anthropological linguistics appear to have little impact on the respondents’ practice, and the paper concludes by suggesting the need to explore boundaries between disciplines.     

Applying colour science in colour design

Although colour science has been widely used in a variety of industries over the years, it has not been fully explored in the field of product design. This paper will initially introduce the three main application fields of colour science: colour specification, colour-difference evaluation and colour appearance modelling. By integrating these advanced colour technologies together with modern colour imaging devices such as display, camera, scanner and printer, some computer systems have been recently developed to assist designers for designing colour palettes through colour selection by means of a number of widely used colour order systems, for creating harmonised colour schemes via a categorical colour system, for generating emotion colours using various colour emotional scales and for facilitating colour naming via a colour-name library. All systems are also capable of providing accurate colour representation on displays and output to different imaging devices such as printers.     

Practical colour management

Spectrophotometers have been successfully used for colour measurement. This paper addresses digital imaging as a complementary and alternative method of colour measurement and appearance and an effective communication tool as part of a practical colour management programme within the supply chain of a textile retailer. The specific needs—to measure and communicate textured dyed material and printed fabric—are discussed, as well as the colour specification and quality control (QC) of currently un-measurable fabrics and accessories. A unique method of using digital imaging for the assessment of colour fastness will also be discussed.     

Port wine spectronephelometry

The main purpose of this research was to create a portable equipment capable of measuring colour and turbidity during production of port wine. Actually, human, chemical and colour analysis are performed in key production stages for quality control. Several wine transformation processes are done without any kind of control. By using a fibre optic illuminator with a tungsten/halogen light source and a small spectrometer with fibre optic input, it was possible to perform angular measurements in wine samples. We have adapted these optical devices with a specially designed mechanical equipment which allows the passage of the wine during production. The spectral measurements were acquired in four different angular positions in a bypass of the mechanical support. This way we could determine colour coordinates and spectral transmittance and turbidity for three stages of a Ruby production. The entire equipment assembly had been previously calibrated in terms of colour and turbidity determination. The obtained results are in agreement with wine transformations between measurements, showing a small variation in colour and a high diminishing in spectral turbidity when filtration was performed. Transmittance has also increased after filtration turning the wine more limpid as it should be for human appreciation.     

Then and now: James Clerk Maxwell and colour

A survey of the researches of James Clerk Maxwell into the production and perception of colour is presented, and links to a selection of present day applications of colour science are indicated. Although false colour photography was not known in Maxwell's time, aspects of his work, suitably interpreted, have a bearing on the wide applicability of the technique. An outline is given of one application of false colour to visualising and analysing data on fluid motion.     

用T值测量仪测量卤钨灯色温

云南光学仪器厂研制的TCY微光物镜T值测量仪不仅可以测量物镜T值,而且还可以测量和标定各种卤钨灯的色温。文章阐述了用该仪器测量色温的原理、方法。并重点分析了多方面的误差因素。还指出了提高精度的方法和注意事项。实际测试结果和理论计算吻合较好:在2000～3000K范围内其测量精度为±10 K左右。用该仪器测量色温,操作简便、省时、经济并有较高的精度。建议推广应用。     

Multi-colour microscopic interferometry for optical metrology and imaging applications

Interferometry has been widely used for optical metrology and imaging applications because of their precision, reliability, and versatility. Although single-wavelength interferometery can provide high sensitivity and resolution, it has several drawbacks, namely, it fails to quantify large-discontinuities, large-deformations, and shape of unpolished surfaces. Multiple-wavelength techniques have been successfully used to overcome the drawbacks associated with single wavelength analysis. The use of colour CCD camera allows simultaneous acquisition of multiple interferograms. The advances in colour CCD cameras and image processing techniques have made the multi-colour interferometry a faster, simpler, and cost-effective tool for industrial applications. This article reviews the recent advances in multi-colour interferometric techniques and their demanding applications for characterization of micro-systems, non-destructive testing, and bio-imaging applications.     

Detection of coloured tracks of heavy ion particles using photographic colour film

A photographic colour film, which was exposed to heavy ions, reveals a coloured dye image of the ion tracks. Since the colour film consists of several layers and different colours appear on each layer, three-dimensional information on the tracks in the layers can be obtained by the colour image. Previously, we have reported the method for which the tracks in different colours represented differences of track depth and we also discussed the disadvantages of using commercial colour films. Here we present the procedure for a self-made photographic coating and the development formula which can overcome the disadvantages.     

Do bees like Van Gogh's Sunflowers?

Flower colours have evolved over 100 million years to address the colour vision of their bee pollinators. In a much more rapid process, cultural (and horticultural) evolution has produced images of flowers that stimulate aesthetic responses in human observers. The colour vision and analysis of visual patterns differ in several respects between humans and bees. Here, a behavioural ecologist and an installation artist present bumblebees with reproductions of paintings highly appreciated in Western society, such as Van Gogh's Sunflowers. We use this unconventional approach in the hope to raise awareness for between-species differences in visual perception, and to provoke thinking about the implications of biology in human aesthetics and the relationship between object representation and its biological connotations.     

用模糊算子法对用通俗语言描述的颜色标志的定量评价

本文在确定颜色模糊性的基础上,用模糊算子的方法分析了用通俗语言描述的颜色标志,提出了一种颜色标志的定量方法。     

Spectral imaging system for non-contact colour measurement

This paper describes the development of a non-contact system for measuring colour of printed material at web speeds. The system proposed uses a non-contact spectrophotometer based on a holographic grating, in conjunction with a conventional monochrome area scan camera, from which colour spectral data is extracted, whilst a xenon flash is used to illuminate colour samples. Software and hardware details of the system are given, along with the underlying mathematics for colour space conversion and measurement. Conversion equations from X, Y, Z chromaticity co-ordinates to the RGB system are presented, and also equations to convert from the L^*a^*b^* colour space to X, Y, Z chromaticity co-ordinates. Experimental results are presented whereby the non-contact spectral system is shown to perform to a colour tolerance exceeding that of conventional colour video systems.     

Nonperturbative QCD vacuum and colour superconductivity

We discuss the possibility of existence of colour superconducting state in real QCD vacuum with nonzero _sGG. We argue, that nonperturbative gluonic fields might play a crucial role in colour superconductivity scenario.     

Estimation of the stability of skeletal muscle myoglobin of chilled pork treated with brine activated by low-frequency high-intensity ultrasound

We studied the effect of ultrasonic activation of brine (3%) during salting on the degree of stability of colour parameters of pork with normal (NOR) and abnormal course of autolysis in the CIE Lab colour space. The mechanism of stabilisation of the colour of meat is attributed to donor–acceptor bonds of metmyoglobin (MetMb). The accumulation of excessive number of free electrons in the medium are capable of activating MetMb. This reduces the activity of meat, when the native participants of the metmyoglobin reductase system and their own antioxidant systems of meat are depleted.Based on the additive calculation of deviations (increase / decrease) by the coordinates L*, a*, b* in the CIE Lab system, and the total colour difference (ΔE) in control and experimental samples, recommendations were developed. To optimize the colour characteristics of all types of meat, both on the surface and in the thickness of the meat, the preliminary activation of a 3% brine in a low-frequency submersible ultrasonic unit is recommended. Moreover, preliminary cavitation activation of a 3% is more preferable to stabilise the colour of PSE – meat (pale, soft, exudative (watery),) brine in a flow-through installation.     

Apports de la colorimétrie et de la spectroradiométrie à la caractérisation in situ des peintures paléolithiques de la grotte Chauvet (Ardèche,France)

The colour of the Palaeolithic paintings on cave walls has been studied primarily in a qualitative way and, more rarely, from the physical angle. Our approach is based on the production of colorimetric measurements in caves, by means of the acquisition of energy radiance spectra with a portable spectroradiometer that can function without contact, several metres away from the decorated walls being studied, thus respecting the constraints of conservation. The colour of parietal works is an element that needs to be taken into account for their archaeological study and conservation. But observation is insufficient and only the measurement of colour makes it possible to compare distant works on rocky supports with different colourings and surface conditions.This article shows the methodology used, and it takes stock of the experience acquired in the research programme on the Chauvet Cave. It also attempts to show the benefits of taking spectroradiometric measurements on prehistoric artworks. However, the in-situ study of their colour cannot be a substitute for chemical and mineralogical analyses and the characterization of the materials, either sampled or in place. Its interest lies in its capacity for detecting even minimal changes in condition and composition. So our objective has been to establish comparisons between the graphic entities to identify the origins of the variations detected in their optical signatures. These variations can be linked to the nature of the colouring materials, but also to their position on the wall, a consequence of the application methods and sometimes also of later removals through taphonomic processes such as water run-off. Alterations (patinas) and coverings (notably veils of calcite or clay) have also been taken into account in our analysis of the data. Hence, we carried out experiments in calcification of surfaces to evaluate the case – quite frequent in caves – of calcite covering a coloured surface, outside of any other phenomenon of alteration. The first results lead us assume that it is possible to identify the signature of a veil of calcite on given colouring materials and also to present hypotheses about the nature of colouring materials covered by a veil of calcite.     

The influence of ambient illumination on colour adaptation in three fringe photoelasticity

In three fringe photoelasticity, a single colour isochromatic image is used to estimate the total fringe order by comparing the colour at each point with that of a calibration table. The generation of the calibration table is critical, and certain nuances involved therein are brought out in this paper. Ideally, the same specimen material and lighting conditions must be used for both the calibration and application experiments, which are often not possible in an industrial scenario, and colour adaptation is a simple way of suitably modifying the calibration table. Till date, only experimental analyses of the colour adaptation procedures are available in the literature; in this paper, the colour adaptation procedures are investigated from an analytical viewpoint. This study has brought out that a two-point colour adaptation scheme accounts not only for tint variation between the calibration and application specimens, but also for ambient illumination. This finding has also been experimentally verified for a benchmark problem, and thereafter extended for reflection photoelastic analyses.     

镀膜玻璃的色差分析与测定方法探讨

影响镀膜玻璃外观的关键质量指标是其颜色的均匀性，本文结合实际情况，详细论述和探讨镀膜玻璃的色差分析和测定，提出了一种镀膜玻璃色差指标的表征方法。     

The nitrogen-vacancy colour centre in diamond

The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) colour centre in diamond is an important physical system for emergent quantum technologies, including quantum metrology, information processing and communications, as well as for various nanotechnologies, such as biological and sub-diffraction limit imaging, and for tests of entanglement in quantum mechanics. Given this array of existing and potential applications and the almost 50 years of NV research, one would expect that the physics of the centre is well understood, however, the study of the NV centre has proved challenging, with many early assertions now believed false and many remaining issues yet to be resolved. This review represents the first time that the key empirical and ab initio results have been extracted from the extensive NV literature and assembled into one consistent picture of the current understanding of the centre. As a result, the key unresolved issues concerning the NV centre are identified and the possible avenues for their resolution are examined.     

The colour wheels of art, perception, science and physiology

Colour is not the domain of any one discipline be it art, philosophy, psychology or science. Each discipline has its own colour wheel and this presentation examines the origins and philosophies behind the colour circles of Art, Perception, Science and Physiology (after image) with reference to Aristotle, Robert Boyle, Leonardo da Vinci, Goethe, Ewald Hering and Albert Munsell.The paper analyses and discusses the differences between the four colour wheels using the Natural Colour System® notation as the reference for hue (the position of colours within each of the colour wheels). Examination of the colour wheels shows the dominance of blue in the wheels of art, science and physiology particularly at the expense of green.This paper does not consider the three-dimensionality of colour space its goal was to review the hue of a colour with regard to its position on the respective colour wheels.