Accidental colour is a historic term for the subjective, complementary color seen when the retina becomes fatigued by a dominant hue. If a person stares at a bright red light and then looks at a white wall, they will temporarily see a cyan afterimage. This phenomenon demonstrates visual adaptation and the opponent-process theory of color vision.
Heard on the job
After focusing the saturated red cyc lights for ten minutes, the crew experienced accidental colour and saw green halos everywhere.
Also heard as
- accidental color
- afterimage