ready steady science... persistence of vision
what you’ll need:
• Disk of card
• Paper
• Felt tips
• Fantastic drawing ability (optional!)
what to do:
• Draw a rat on one side of the card, then turn it over, and draw a cage on the other side (in the same position as you drew the rat).
• Punch two holes right at the edges of the disc, on opposite sides of it.
• Tie string to each side and knot securely
• Then, wind the card round and round, so the string gets good and twisted. Pull the strings in opposite directions – and spin that card baby!
Did you catch the rat?
If you’ve lined up the rat and cage correctly, the rat will appear to be inside the cage…
what's happening?
When we see something, the image is retained on our retina for a fraction of a second. This is known as ‘persistence of vision’. Our brain interprets the two images being shown in quick succession as the same image – and the rat is caught.Very simple, very easy to demonstrate. Amazing to think that persistence of vision is the scientific principle on which the entire movie and animation industries were built!
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