Uploaded October 2019 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Swirling spiral of bubbles is rotated at 48 RPM by DC gear motor from paper-towel dispenser.
When the spiral begins to spin, the bubbles become blurry but as soon as strobe flashes illuminate it, they come into view.
The Phenakistoscope was an early animation device used to produces the optical illusion of apparent motion.
Etymology - Greek: Phenakistoscope: phenax = deceptive, scopio = to look at.
The Phenakistoscope was invented by Belgian Joseph Plateau in 1841. The illusion is due to persistence of vision (Phi phenomenon) in which humans perceive the decay of a visual stimulus, slower than the actual decay.
The motor is mounted on Meccano/Erector-Set frame and its rotation rate is controlled with a rheostat which limits electrical current. The flashes are produced by a xenon lamp stroboscope.
Timestamps:
00:10 Strobe flashes begin
00:34 Strobe flashes stop
00:41 Strobe flashes begin again
00:55 Rotation of motor begins to increases from 48 to 60 RPM
01:12 View of paper-towel dispenser motor and rheostat
Strobe flashing rate (Flashes Per Minute) was calculated as follows:
approximate number of contiguous bubbles along diameter of circle * 48 RPM = 35 * 48 = 1,680 FPM
The bubbles come into view with the strobe flashing at 1,680 frames/min or 28 flashes/sec.
Low frequency background flashing results from the difference between strobe flashing rate and video camera frame rate:
28 strobe flashes/sec – 24 camera frames/sec = 4 flashes/second
Watch additional motorized optical illusions:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCbYhDNjOviHqwA5QHcNuqsXLTXdSHuYw
#opticalillussion #opticalillusions #visualperception #flipbook
Swirling spiral of bubbles is rotated at 48 RPM by DC gear motor from paper-towel dispenser.
When the spiral begins to spin, the bubbles become blurry but as soon as strobe flashes illuminate it, they come into view.
The Phenakistoscope was an early animation device used to produces the optical illusion of apparent motion.
Etymology - Greek: Phenakistoscope: phenax = deceptive, scopio = to look at.
The Phenakistoscope was invented by Belgian Joseph Plateau in 1841. The illusion is due to persistence of vision (Phi phenomenon) in which humans perceive the decay of a visual stimulus, slower than the actual decay.
The motor is mounted on Meccano/Erector-Set frame and its rotation rate is controlled with a rheostat which limits electrical current. The flashes are produced by a xenon lamp stroboscope.
Timestamps:
00:10 Strobe flashes begin
00:34 Strobe flashes stop
00:41 Strobe flashes begin again
00:55 Rotation of motor begins to increases from 48 to 60 RPM
01:12 View of paper-towel dispenser motor and rheostat
Strobe flashing rate (Flashes Per Minute) was calculated as follows:
approximate number of contiguous bubbles along diameter of circle * 48 RPM = 35 * 48 = 1,680 FPM
The bubbles come into view with the strobe flashing at 1,680 frames/min or 28 flashes/sec.
Low frequency background flashing results from the difference between strobe flashing rate and video camera frame rate:
28 strobe flashes/sec – 24 camera frames/sec = 4 flashes/second
Watch additional motorized optical illusions:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCbYhDNjOviHqwA5QHcNuqsXLTXdSHuYw
#opticalillussion #opticalillusions #visualperception #flipbook
