Stations-ID: A004

Instructions:

Light enters the camera’s interior through a small opening in the door. Observe the projection on the screen. How does the image change if the opening is narrowed? What happens if a lens is held in front of it?

Enter the camera and shut the door. How much time do your eyes need to adjust to the light and recognize something? Observe the projection on the screen

• Open the sliding aperture and then close it slowly. What happens?
• How does the image alter when you narrow the opening?
• Open the door and examine the premises. Close the door and look at the projection. Is the projection mirrored or flipped?

The word ‘camera’ derived from the Latin word ‘camera obscura’, meaning ‘dark chamber’. The functional principle of the pinhole camera was already known in the antiquity and was described in detail in the 10th century by Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Haitham (965-1039/1040). The Arab mathematician, known in Europe as ‘Alhazen’, rejected the previously known concept of ‘the ray of vision’, which could explain mirror phenomena but not the observations of the camera obscura.  

Mehr dazu in unserem Stationenpark-Handbuch
Find out more in our Handbook

Stations-ID: A008

Instructions:

Two people stand in the opposite corner of the room. The others watch from outside the house. Which of the two people inside the house seem taller?

• Examine the shape of the room. What angles and surfaces can you see?
• Which of the two people is standing closer to you? Which one looks bigger?

This construction is based on the work of the American optician Adelbert Ames who probably built on Hermann Helmholtz’s ideas. This optical illusion finds a very practical use in the film industry; In the ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies, the scenes involving hobbits and humans were shot in trapeze-shaped, distorted sets to create the illusion of difference in size.

Mehr dazu in unserem Stationenpark-Handbuch
Find out more in our Handbook