Virtual optical illusions for creative learning

Abstract

An amazing “rotating ring” optical illusion was studied in the frames of the students’ educational computer-based research work. Virtual images of differently shaped moving objects were simulated in QBasic 71, MS Visual C++ 6.0 and Borland Pascal and compared with the real-time frames and disks observed spinning against the contrast background. Space distribution of background screening time τ was defined by direct measurement in virtual experiments. Its perfect agreement with the dependence predicted by the kinematical model of the effect has proved the illusion to be caused by space non-linearity of the ring’s background screening.