Photopsin absorb light at different wavelengths as retinal-bound pigments. Humans have three different photoreceptor proteins ("photopsin" or "cone opsins") which are found in cone cells and which are responsible for colour vision: George Wald received the 1967 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his experiments in the 1950s that showed the difference in absorbance by these photopsins (see image). Photopsin Photopsins (also known as Cone opsins) are the photoreceptor proteins found in the cone cells of the retina that are the basis of color vision. Iodopsin, the cone pigment system in chicken retina, is a close analog of the "visual
Laser safety near-infrared light onto the retina. A laser beam can be focused to an intensity on the retina which may be up to 200,000 times higher than at the point where the laser beam enters the eye. Most of the light is absorbed by melanin pigments in the pigment epithelium just behind the photoreceptors, and causes burns in the retina. Ultraviolet light with wavelengths shorter than 400 nm tends to be absorbed by lens and 300 nm in the cornea, where it can produce injuries at relatively low powers due to photochemical damage. Infrared light mainly causes thermal damage to the