Edgerton Center: Dancing Dots

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This demonstration is currently on display in Strobe Alley (fourth floor of Building 4).

The purpose of this display is to demonstrate the strobe light's ability to create optical illusions and to enable people to see images that occur too fast for the human eye to discern.

Instructions:

The main disc contains a variety of circular patterns. When you press and hold the button in, the disc spins and the strobe light goes on. By turning the knob, you can adjust the frequency of the strobe light to see some interesting effects. Amongst other things, you should be able to make the disc appear as if it is not spinning at all, as if it is spinning in the opposite direction it is actually spinning in, and as if the dots are stationary but "oscillating." Play around with it!

Explanation:

A strobe light is simply a light that rapidly flashes on and off. The strobe used in this display is repetitive, meaning that it flashes on and off continuously a certain amount of times each second. When you adjust the knob, you are changing the frequency -- the rate at which the light turns on and off. When you look at the disc underneath the strobe light, which in reality is spinning clockwise at a constant rate, your eye can see a myriad of different patterns. Since the disc was designed for this purpose, you can change the type of patterns you see by changing the strobe frequency. When the disc appears to be stationary, the frequency of the strobe light matches the speed of the rotation of the disc. -- every flash exposes the disc after it makes one complete revolution.

Using this and related strobe technology, along with high speed film, photographs can be taken of events that last a fraction of a second. Most of the photographs lining Strobe Alley were produced using this technology. A single flash strobe, which flashes on and off rapidly only once, was used to photograph pictures like the milk drop, while a multi-flash strobe, similar to what you have seen in this display, was used to photograph pictures like the golfer.

Edgerton Center Home Introduction Corridor Lab High Speed Imaging Staff Academics Subjects Offered Strobe Project Lab IAP UROP Professional Short Course Programs International Development Outreach/You Go Girl Service Learning Student Groups Student Shop		This demonstration is currently on display in Strobe Alley (fourth floor of Building 4). The purpose of this display is to demonstrate the strobe light's ability to create optical illusions and to enable people to see images that occur too fast for the human eye to discern. Instructions: The main disc contains a variety of circular patterns. When you press and hold the button in, the disc spins and the strobe light goes on. By turning the knob, you can adjust the frequency of the strobe light to see some interesting effects. Amongst other things, you should be able to make the disc appear as if it is not spinning at all, as if it is spinning in the opposite direction it is actually spinning in, and as if the dots are stationary but "oscillating." Play around with it!
	Explanation: A strobe light is simply a light that rapidly flashes on and off. The strobe used in this display is repetitive, meaning that it flashes on and off continuously a certain amount of times each second. When you adjust the knob, you are changing the frequency -- the rate at which the light turns on and off. When you look at the disc underneath the strobe light, which in reality is spinning clockwise at a constant rate, your eye can see a myriad of different patterns. Since the disc was designed for this purpose, you can change the type of patterns you see by changing the strobe frequency. When the disc appears to be stationary, the frequency of the strobe light matches the speed of the rotation of the disc. -- every flash exposes the disc after it makes one complete revolution. Using this and related strobe technology, along with high speed film, photographs can be taken of events that last a fraction of a second. Most of the photographs lining Strobe Alley were produced using this technology. A single flash strobe, which flashes on and off rapidly only once, was used to photograph pictures like the milk drop, while a multi-flash strobe, similar to what you have seen in this display, was used to photograph pictures like the golfer. Automotive Crank \| Climbing Arc \| Devices for Optical Communication \| Exploding Wire \| Feynman Sprinkler \| Kelvin Electrostatic Generator \| Measure Your Own Capacitance \| Water Piddler