Science Project on “Deforming Ovals”, Project Experiment Topics on Light, Sound, Maths, Optical Illusion for Class 8, 9, 10 and 12 Students.

Deforming Ovals

Materials Required:

1. Proximity to a photocopying machine
2. Some paper

Myriad optical illusions are created when figures are drawn on a disk and rotated slowly. Here is how you can try it.

Use a photocopying machine to copy the square shown in the illustration, with the three nested ovals.

Cut the square out and crease it along both diagonals (dotted lines) to form two “valley” creases (that is creases that go inward, when viewed from above).

Now open the square and flatten it. You will find the creases form a point at the centre which allows the square to rotate.

Now put the square on a surface, which is smooth, yet hard. Begin to rotate very slowly, with a fingertip on one corner.

The concentric ovals will become deformed, as though they are made of rubber.

A possible explanation: When you watch a television show and see a moving car or a man walking, what you are actually watching is a series of still images which change rapidly. You think you view motion because your brain takes these images and puts them all together to create a whole scene with motion. Therefore, once you look at the rotating ovals, your eyes and the brain do their best to create a scene that you can understand.

The ovals do not really flex or become deformed, but your brain thinks that they do. To the brain, this makes most sense, given the series of images that the eyes are transmitting to it.