Perception

Can You Believe Your Eyes

Can You Believe Your Eyes displays a very convincing image of a spring which can be seen but not touched. A large concave spherical mirror forms an image of a steel spring concealed under the platform where its image appears. Visitors can surprise their senses further by shining a penlight onto the image of the spring. A diagram on the exhibit shows where the real object can be found, and illustrates how light is reflected from the actual spring to the eye.