Visual Performance with High-Contrast Cathode-Ray Tubes at High Levels of Ambient Illumination

Gap-detection thresholds and working-level preferences were determined for one standard and three experimental high-contrast cathode-ray tubes under four levels of ambient illumination, 100, 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000 ft.-c.; two angles of incidence, 30 and 60°; and two angles of regard, 0 and −45° Trace brightnesses required to perform the visual tasks were primarily a function of the reflectances and resulting background brightnesses of the cathode-ray-tube faces. The results of this study are related to classical psychophysical data on brightness discrimination, earlier work on “masking luminance” for rador displays, and a recent study on visual performance using electroluminescent displays under high ambient illumination.