Abney effect

The Abney effect or the purity-on-hue effect describes the perceived hue shift that occurs when white light is added to a monochromatic light source.^[1][2]

The addition of white light will cause a desaturation of the monochromatic source, as perceived by the human observer. However, a less intuitive effect of the perceived white light addition is the change in the apparent hue. This hue shift is physiological rather than physical in nature.

This variance of hue as a result of the addition of white light was first described by the English chemist and physicist Sir William de Wiveleslie Abney in 1909, although the date is commonly reported as 1910. A white light source can be created by the combination of red, blue, and green light. Abney demonstrated that the cause of the apparent change in hue was the red and green light that comprised this light source, and that the blue light component had no contribution to the Abney effect.^[3]