Persistence of Vision - Learn About Optical Toys and Moving Pictures

Oct 13, 2026

Upload by Damian

Persistence of vision explains how the human eye retains an image briefly after looking away, and how a sequence of pictures can create the appearance of continuous movement. The text emphasizes the role of light and contrast through a black star on different colored backgrounds experiment. It also introduces practical ideas, including using flicked drawings at specific frame rates to improve motion illusion, and highlights historical optical toys such as the thaumatrope, phenakistascope, and zoetrope.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryTechnology

FormatPDF

Pages28

Reading Time1 h 11 min

AccessFree to download

Persistence of Vision

Persistence of Vision in Action

Make Your Own Cartoon

Moving Pictures

(House and Community Check)

завоаввввееоаеееввоваеевевввоваеввеввввваUVPiCturesM90000000 CELEBRATION PRESS 00010 M 00L人N“人”N S 69T M 099 8ZT Sd Z1S人N MOvingPiCtUreS Joanne Sinclair CELEBRATION PRESS Pearson Learning Group Contents Persistence of Vision4Persistence of Vision in Action6Moving Pictures8The Thaumatrope10The Phenakistascope12The Zoetrope14It's Magic!16Celluloid and Cinemas18Televisions and Computers20Template for a Phenakistascope22Template for a Zoetrope23Glossary24Index24 爽北丫 # Persistence of Vision Have you ever looked at a light and noticed that you couldstill see it after you looked away?This happens becauseour eyes keep an image for a fraction of a second before itfades.Scientists call this“persistence of vision”,and it's whatmakes movies possible.If our eyes see a series of picturesone after the other,before the previous picture fades,thisgives the appearance of movement. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | ④ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Light and contrast are important in persistence of vision.Stare at the black star on a yellow background for thirtyseconds and then look at a blank wall.Now stare atthe black star on a blue background for thirty secondsand then look at the blank wall.Which afterimageis the easiest to see? Answer is on page 24. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | # Persistence of Vision in Action If you see a series of pictures at sixteen pictures per second,it gives the illusion of movement.Movies and cartoonsshow pictures at twenty-four pictures per second so that themovement looks smooth. # Make Your Own Cartoon YOU WILL NEED a small notepad or exercisebook with at least 20 pages(one for each picture inyour cartoon) a pen or pencil ## WHAT TO DO 1.Decide what you will draw.A tree losing its leaves,a sunrise,or a plant growing from a seed would allbe easy to draw and make good moving pictures. 2.On the second to last page,draw the first picture ofyour cartoon.Work backward,drawing pictures foryour cartoon on each page.Each drawing needs tobe slightly different. 3.When you have finished your drawings,flick thepages of your notepad from the back to the front.The faster you flick the pages,the better the illusion ofmovement you will have. 7 Moving Pictures Today moving pictures are everywhere—on television,at the movie theater,on your computer,on advertisingbillboards,and more.In the 1800s,people were justbeginning to find out about persistence of vision andexperiment with it.They made optical toys with strangenames such as thaumatrope,phenakistascope,andzoetrope.You will learn how to make these optical toysin the pages that follow.It will help you understandhow moving pictures have developed. Look around your house and community.How manythings can you find that have moving pictures?None ofthese things were around in the 1800s!

FAQs

What is persistence of vision and why does it matter for movies?

Persistence of vision is the way your eyes keep an image for a fraction of a second. Seeing pictures in quick sequence before the previous one fades creates the illusion of movement, which is the basis for movies.

How do light and contrast affect what you can see in persistence of vision?

The text advises staring at a black star on different colored backgrounds, then looking at a blank wall to compare afterimages. It asks which afterimage is easiest to see, showing that contrast and background color change visibility.

How can you make a cartoon that shows an illusion of movement?

Decide what to draw, sketch each picture on successive pages with small differences, and then flick the pages quickly from back to front. The faster you flick, the better the illusion of movement.

Oct 13, 2026

Upload by Damian