Scientific Toys

The Thaumatrope and Zoetrope are two scientific toys based on the theory of the persistence of vision. This theory was believed (wrongly as it turned out) to account for how we see movies as continuous motion.

The Thaumatrope (Greek for "wonder turner") enabled a user to spin painted images to create a crude animation. The Thaumatrope appeared in 1825.

In 1829 French inventor Joseph Antoine Ferdinand Plateau published his research on persistence of vision and then in 1832 produced his own toy based on his research. The toys became quite popular. And perhaps, most importantly, Plateau's research found that ___ images per second* was the necessary rate for producing the illusion of continuous movement.

*Fill in the blank from your reading assignment.

Quiz question: How many frames per second are necessary to eliminate the problem of flicker, also known as the Critical Flicker Frequency (CFF)?

Some trivia for you, the Zoetrope (Greek for "life turning" or "wheel of life") is another scientific toy based on the persistence of vision, is the name of Francis Ford Coppola's film company.