Young–Helmholtz theory of color vision
a theory to explain color vision in terms of components or processes sensitive to three different parts of the spectrum, corresponding to the colors red, green, and blue. According to this theory, other colors are perceived by stimulation of two of the three processes, whereas light that stimulates all three processes equally is perceived as white. The components are now thought to be retinal cones, although the original theory was not tied to a particular (or indeed to any) cell type. See trichromatic theory. Compare Hering theory of color vision; opponent process theory of color vision. [Thomas Young (1773–1829), British physician and physicist; Hermann von Helmholtz]