Re: stroboscopic eyes

[davies@purav4.physics.purdue.edu]

> Looking at a ripple tank and introducing using a stobe to determine
> frequency, the discussion went to seeing wagon wheels in movies seeming to
> roll backwards. Students maintain that they have seen this in cars with
> naked eye. I don't inderstand the mechanism of how that would happen, yet I
> in retrospect, I think I have seen it, too. Any ideas?
>
> Ken Fox                         Physics stimulates the

You may all think I've lost my marbles, but I'll swear on a stack of Jackson
texts that I have taught myself to control this stroboscopic effect.  I can 
stare at a rotating ceiling fan, force my eyes to go out of focus, and make the
fan appear to cease its rotations or even reverse direction.

Has anyone else done this?

Cross eyed in Denver,
Rob Davies