Traffic lights play a vital role in our daily lives, they ensure the safety and smoothness of road traffic. But for our little friend, the pet dog, how are the traffic lights recognized?Especially for those dogs with red-green color blindness, how can they accurately distinguish the signals of traffic lights in a busy traffic environment?This article will reveal this mystery for you.
First of all, we need to be clear about the fact that dogs don't really see red and green. But that doesn't mean dogs can't distinguish between the two colors. In fact, the perception of color in dogs' eyes is different from that of humans. In the eyes of dogs, they are mainly able to distinguish between blue, yellow, and gray. Among them, the change of gray is especially important for dogs, because they have a strong ability to distinguish subtle changes in gray shades.
So, how do dogs recognize traffic signals like traffic lights?In fact, dogs do not judge traffic lights by their color, but rely on the brightness of the traffic lights to distinguish them. Specifically, when a traffic light is red, its brightness will be relatively strong;When the signal light is green, its brightness will be relatively weak. This change in brightness is very noticeable for dogs.
In addition, there is a special structure in the dog's eye called "rod cells", which is responsible for detecting changes in light. This cell is very sensitive to light, so dogs are able to capture changes in the intensity of light very accurately. That's why dogs are able to keep their eyesight at night or in low-light environments.
So why are we emphasizing that a dog's traffic light recognition is based on brightness rather than color?This is because some dogs have what is known as "red-green color blindness". This "color blindness" is not color blindness in the true sense of the word, but a decrease in the ability to perceive certain colors due to some genetic causes. For example, some dogs may have a weak perception of red or green, which can cause them to misjudge when faced with a traffic light. But luckily, the brightness of the traffic lights varies so much that even these "colorblind" dogs can easily recognize the traffic light signal.
Overall, while dogs can't see red and green as much as we do, they are still able to accurately identify the signals of traffic lights by the brightness of the light. This unique visual mechanism allows dogs to make correct judgments when faced with complex traffic situations to ensure the safety of themselves and others.