| WHAT'S
GOING ON?
When you twist the straw quickly in your hands the two images
seem to merge as one. This is actually an optical illusion,
but it works because of how our brains interpret pictures.
When you look at an image, your brain remembers
it for a fraction of a second after it has gone. This is called
"persistence of vision". If you see more than 10
images within a second, then your brain puts them together
as a series of moving images. Plus the brighter an image is,
the longer the brain retains it.
Movies use the same trick, except they show
24 frames per second, so the effect is much smoother and more
natural.
So the next time your friends say they want
to see a movie - impress them with your spinning stick face,
sorry, thaumotrope!
SPIN OFF SITES:
º Interview
with filmmaker Glendyn Irvin
º Create
your own animation
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