Stroboscope

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A bouncing ball captured with a stroboscopic flash at 25 images per second.

A strobe light flashing at the proper period can appear to freeze or reverse cyclical motion

A stroboscope, also known as a strobe, is an instrument used to make a cyclically moving object appear to be slow-moving, or stationary. The principle is used for the study of rotating, reciprocating, oscillating or vibrating objects. Machine parts and vibrating strings are common examples. Intense flashing/pulsing light of various frequencies can trigger epileptic seizures in people who suffer from photosensitive epilepsy.
Contents
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1 Types of stroboscopes

o o

1.1 Mechanical 1.2 Electronic

2 History 3 Applications 4 Other effects 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit]Types

of stroboscopes

[edit]Mechanical
In its simplest mechanical form, a rotating cylinder (or bowl with a raised edge) with evenly-spaced holes or slots placed in the line of sight between the observer and the moving object. The observer looks through the holes/slots on the near and far side at the same time, with the slots/holes moving in opposite directions. When the holes/slots are aligned on opposite sides, the object is visible to the observer. Alternately, a single moving hole or slot can be used with a fixed/stationary hole or slot. The stationary hole or slot limits the light to a single viewing path and reduces glare from light passing through other parts of the moving hole/slot. Viewing through a single line of holes/slots does not work, since the holes/slots appear to just sweep across the object without a strobe effect. The rotational speed is adjusted so that it becomes synchronised with the movement of the observed system, which seems to slow and stop. The illusion is caused by temporal aliasing, commonly known as the stroboscopic effect.

[edit]Electronic
In electronic versions, the perforated disc is replaced by a lamp capable of emitting brief and rapid flashes of light. Typically a gas-discharge or solid-state lamp is used, because they are capable of emitting light nearly instantly when power is applied, and extinguishing just as fast when the power is removed. By comparison, incandescent lamps have a brief warm-up when energized, followed by a cool-down period when power is removed. These delays result in smearing and blurring of detail of objects partially illuminated during the warm-up and cool-down periods. The frequency of the flash is adjusted so that it is an equal to, or a unit fraction of the object's cyclic speed, at which point the object is seen to be either stationary or moving slowly backward or forward, depending on the flash frequency. Neon lamps or light emitting diodes are commonly used for low-intensity strobe applications, Neon lamps were more common before the development of solid-state electronics, but are being replaced by LEDs in most lowintensity strobe applications. Xenon flash lamps are used for medium- and high-intensity strobe applications. Sufficiently rapid or bright flashing may require active cooling such as forced-air or water cooling to prevent the xenon flash lamp from melting.

[edit]History

1540 Strobolume, a professional grade stroboscope produced by General Radio

Close-up view of the 1540 Strobolume control box

Joseph Plateau of Belgium is generally credited with the invention of the stroboscope in 1832, when he used a disc with radial slits which he turned while viewing images on a separate rotating wheel. Plateau called his device the "Phenakistoscope". There was a simultaneous and independent invention of the device by the Austrian Simon von Stampfer, which he named the "Stroboscope", and it is his term which is used today. The etymology is from the Greek words - strobos, meaning "whirlpool" and - skopein, meaning "to look at". As well as having important applications for scientific research, the earliest inventions received immediate popular success as methods for producingmoving pictures, and the principle was used for numerous toys. Other early pioneers employed rotating mirrors, or vibrating mirrors known as mirror galvanometers. In 1917, French engineer Etienne Oehmichen patented the first electric stroboscope,[1] building at the same time a camera capable of shooting 1,000 frames per second. The electronic strobe light stroboscope was invented in 1931, when Harold Eugene Edgerton ("Doc" Edgerton) employed a flashing lamp to study machine parts in motion.[2] General Radio Corporation then went on to produce this invention in the form of their "Strobotach". Edgerton later used very short flashes of light as a means of producing still photographs of fast-moving objects, such as bullets in flight.

[edit]Applications
Stroboscopes play an important role in the study of stresses on machinery in motion, and in many other forms of research. Bright stroboscopes are able to overpower ambient lighting and make stop-motion effects apparent without the need for dark ambient operating conditions. They are also used as measuring instruments for determining cyclic speed. As a timing light they are used to set the ignition timing of internal combustion engines. In medicine, stroboscopes are used to view the vocal cords for diagnosis of conditions that have produced dysphonia (hoarseness). The patient hums or speaks into a microphone which in turn activates the stroboscope at either the same or a slightly different frequency. The light source and a camera are positioned by endoscopy. Another application of the stroboscope can be seen on many gramophone turntables. The edge of the platter has marks at specific intervals so that when viewed under fluorescent lighting powered at mains frequency, provided the platter is rotating at the correct speed, the marks appear to be stationary. This will not work under incandescent lighting, as incandescent bulbs don't strobe. For this reason, some turntables have a neon bulb next to the platter. Flashing lamp strobes are also adapted for pop use, as a lighting effect for discotheques and night clubs where they give the impression of dancing in slow motion. The strobe rate of these devices is typically not very precise or very fast, because the entertainment application does not usually require a high degree of performance.

[edit]Other

effects

Rapid flashing can give the illusion that white light is tinged with color, known as Fechner color. Within certain ranges, the apparent color can be controlled by the frequency of the flash, but it is an illusion generated in the mind of the observer and not a real color. The Benham's top demonstrates the effect.

[edit]See

also

Stroboscopic effect

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Depending on the frequency of flash, the element appears motionless or rotating in reverse direction

The stroboscopic effect is a visual phenomenon caused by aliasing that occurs when continuous motion is represented by a series of short or instantaneous samples. It occurs when the view of a moving object is represented by a series of short samples as distinct from a continuous view, and the moving object is in rotational or other cyclic motion at a rate close to the sampling rate. It also accounts for the "wagon-wheel effect", so-called because in video or film, spoked wheels on horse-drawn wagons sometimes appear to be turning backwards. A strobe fountain, a stream of water droplets falling at regular intervals lit with a strobe light, is an example of the stroboscopic effect being applied to a cyclic motion that is not rotational. When viewed under normal light, this is a normal water fountain. When viewed under a strobe light with its frequency tuned to the rate at which the droplets fall, the droplets appear to be suspended in mid-air. Adjusting the strobe frequency can make the droplets seemingly move slowly up or down.
Contents
[hide]

1 Explanation

1.1 Audio conversion from light patterns

2 Wagon-wheel effect 3 Dangers 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit]Explanation

Consider the stroboscope as used in mechanical analysis. This may be a "strobe light" that is fired at an adjustable rate. For example, an object is rotating at 60 revolutions per second: if it is viewed with a series of short flashes at 60 times per second, each flash illuminates the object at the same position in its rotational cycle, so it appears that the object is stationary. Furthermore, at a frequency of 60 flashes per second, persistence of vision smooths out the sequence of flashes so that the perceived image is continuous. If the same rotating object is viewed at 61 flashes per second, each flash will illuminate it at a slightly earlier part of its rotational cycle. Sixty-one flashes will occur before the object is seen in the same position again, and the series of images will be perceived as if it is rotating backwards once per minute. The same effect occurs if the object is viewed at 59 flashes per second, except that each flash illuminates it a little later in its rotational cycle and so, the object will seem to be slowly rotating forwards. In the case of motion pictures, action is captured as a rapid series of still images and the same stroboscopic effect can occur.

[edit]Audio

conversion from light patterns

The stroboscopic effect also plays a role in audio playback. Compact discs rely on strobing reflections of the laser from the surface of the disc in order to be processed (it is also used for computer data). DVDs and Blu-ray Discs have similar functions. The stroboscopic effect also plays a role for laser microphones.

[edit]Wagon-wheel

effect

Main article: Wagon-wheel effect

Propeller of a Bombardier Q400 taken with a digital camera showing the stroboscopic effect

Motion-picture cameras conventionally film at 24 frames per second. Although the wheels of a vehicle are not likely to be turning at 24 revolutions per second (as that would be extremely fast), suppose each wheel has twelve spokes and rotates at only two revolutions per second. Filmed at 24 frames per second, the spokes in each frame will appear in exactly the same position. Hence, the wheel will be perceived to be stationary. In fact, each photographically captured spoke in any one position will be a different actual spoke in each successive frame, but since the spokes are close to identical in shape and color, no difference will be perceived. If the wheel rotates a little more slowly than two revolutions per second, the position of the spokes is seen to fall a little further behind in each successive frame and therefore the wheel will seem to be turning backwards.

[edit]Dangers

Because of the illusion that the stroboscopic effect can give to moving machinery, it is advised that singlephase lighting is avoided. For example, a factory that is lit from a single-phase supply with basic lighting will have a flicker of 100 or 120Hz (depending on country, double the nominal frequency), thus any machinery rotating at multiples of 50 or 60rpm may appear to not be turning, increasing the risk of injury to an operator. Solutions include deploying the lighting over a full 3-phase supply, or by using high-frequency controllers that drive the lights at safer frequencies.[1]

[edit]See

also