GUWAHATI: Researchers have claimed the discovery of a new colour named 'olo'—a shade never before perceived by the human eye. The new colour was reportedly experienced by just five individuals through a controlled experiment involving laser manipulation of the retina.
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The findings were recently published in Science Advances on April 18, sparking widespread interest in the scientific community. Researchers involved in the project described 'olo' as having similarities to peacock blue or teal, but with a level of saturation considered "off-the-charts."
According to reports, the experiment, designed to bypass the eye's natural processing limits, used precision laser pulses to stimulate specific colour-sensitive cells within the retina.
“We predicted from the beginning that it would look like an unprecedented colour signal but we didn’t know what the brain would do with it” Ren Ng, an electrical engineer at the University of California, Berkeley, reportedly said. “It was jaw-dropping.” Ng added that the experience was more intense than any standard colour visible to the naked eye.
Austin Roorda, a vision scientist on the team, emphasised the uniqueness of the colour. “There is no way to convey that colour in an article or on a monitor… it absolutely pales by comparison with the experience of olo,” he reportedly said.
Though a turquoise square was shared to suggest the appearance of the colour, scientists admitted that the representation falls short of the actual experience. The colour remains inaccessible to the general population, with researchers confirming it cannot be replicated on digital screens or through virtual reality technology at present.