Di Lollo, V., Bischof, W. F., Walther-Müller, P. U., Groner, M. T., and Groner, R. (1994). Phosphor persistence in oscilloscopic displays: Its luminance and visibility. Vision Research, 34, 1619-1620.

Phosphor persistence and its potentially confounding effects in visual experiments was discussed in Groner, R. et al (see PA, Vol 80:36078) and disputed by G. Westheimer (1993), who wrote that the evidence in the original article stemmed from indirect experiments. Westheimer concluded that the persistence of P31 phosphor, as measured by a photometer, decays within about 2 msec. This conclusion is valid only in the trivial case in which the term effective refers to the photometric system and ambient conditions employed in the measurement. That conclusion is misleading if the term effective is interpreted as referring to the human visual system. The authors stand by their original claim that the long persistence of P31 phosphor makes it unsuitable for investigating temporal integration in vision and that P15 is the phosphor of choice in this type of experiment.

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