Optics

The Blooming Flower

← All Exhibits

Spin this 3D-printed flower under a flashing light, and its petals seem to bloom and grow before your eyes.

The petals are arranged in spirals. A strobe light flashes once per turn, and each flash shows the flower a little further along, so your brain joins the still views into movement, like frames of a film.

Change the speed of the flashes. Can you make the flower seem to grow backward?