Paris – The International Year of Light makes its debut today. The inauguration is at the Paris headquarters of UNESCO, and will see the participation of Alessandro Farini from National Institute of Optical National Research Council (Ino-CNR) and University of Florence, the only Italian scientist among the speakers. Farini is an psychophysics expert that studies the inseparable link between light, color and visual perception. “The colors do not exist in nature in an absolute sense – says the Ino-CNR researcher – they are in our mind, along with the other two protagonists of the perceptual process: light and the physical properties of the illuminated object. These elements determine our perception of a color.” Farini will explain this with a practical example, illuminating a work of art with LED lighting – showing how our color perception is inextricably linked to the type of light used. (9Colonne)