A kaleidoscope is a tube of mirrors containing loose colored beads, pebbles or other small colored objects. A mirror is an object with a surface that has good Specular reflection; that is it is smooth enough to form an Image. A bead is a small decorative object that is pierced for threading or stringing A pebble is a clast of rock with a Particle size of 4 to 64 Millimeters based on the Krumbein phi scale of Sedimentology The viewer looks in one end and light enters the other end, reflecting off the mirrors. Light, or visible light, is Electromagnetic radiation of a Wavelength that is visible to the Human eye (about 400–700 Reflection is the change in direction of a Wave front at an interface between two different media so that the wave front returns into the medium from which Typically there are two rectangular lengthwise mirrors. Setting of the mirrors at 45° creates eight duplicate images of the objects, six at 60°, and four at 90°. This article describes the unit of angle For other meanings see Degree. As the tube is rotated, the tumbling of the colored objects presents the viewer with varying colors and patterns. Any arbitrary pattern of objects shows up as a beautiful symmetric pattern because of the reflections in the mirrors. A two-mirror model yields a pattern or patterns isolated against a solid black background, while a three-mirror (closed triangle) model yields a pattern that fills the entire field.
For a 2D symmetry group, a kaleidoscopic point is a point of intersection of two or more lines of reflection symmetry. Reflection symmetry, line symmetry, mirror symmetry, mirror-image symmetry, or bilateral symmetry is Symmetry with respect In the case of a discrete group the angle between consecutive lines is 180°/n for an integer n≥2. At this point there are n lines of reflection symmetry, and the point is a center of n-fold rotational symmetry. Generally speaking an object with rotational symmetry is an object that looks the same after a certain amount of Rotation. See also symmetry combinations. Symmetry generally conveys two primary meanings The first is an imprecise sense of harmonious or aesthetically-pleasing proportionality and balance such that it reflects beauty or Modern kaleidoscopes are made of brass tubes, stained glass, wood, steel, gourds and most any other material an artist can sculpt or manipulate. The part of the kaleidoscope which holds objects to be viewed is called an object chamber or cell. Object cells may contain almost any material. Sometimes the object cell is filled with liquid so the items float and move through the object cell with slight movement from the person viewing.
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History
Known to the ancient Greeks, it was reinvented Sir David Brewster in 1815 while conducting experiments on light polarization; Brewster patented it in 1817. Sir David Brewster, FRS ( 11 December 1781 &ndash 10 February 1868) was a Scottish scientist inventor and writer Year 1815 ( MDCCCXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Polarization ( ''Brit'' polarisation) is a property of Waves that describes the orientation of their oscillations A patent is a set of Exclusive rights granted by a State to an inventor or his assignee for a fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an Year 1817 ( MDCCCXVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common His initial design was a tube with pairs of mirrors at one end, and pairs of translucent disks at the other, and beads between the two. Initially intended as a science tool, the kaleidoscope was quickly copied as a toy. This article is about playthings For other uses of the term see Toy (disambiguation. Brewster believed he would make money from his popular invention; however, a fault in the wording of his patent allowed others to copy his invention.
In America, Charles Bush popularized the kaleidoscope. Today, these early products often sell for over $1,000. Cozy Baker collected kaleidoscopes and wrote books about the artists who were making them in the 1970s through 2000. Baker is credited with energizing a renaissance in kaleidoscope-making in America. In 1997 a short lived magazine dedicated to kaleidoscopes called Kaleidoscope Review was published covering artists, collectors, dealers, events, and how-to articles.
Craft galleries often carry a few, while others specialize in them and carry dozens of different types from different artists and craftspeople.
Kaleidoscopes are related to hyperbolic geometry.
Background
For some background on the geometry of the kaleidoscope, see Reflection group. A reflection group is a Group action, acting on a finite dimensional Vector space, which is generated by reflections elements that fix a Hyperplane in
See also
External links
- 12 in HU, moving interactive kaleidoscope
- Kaleidoscope DVD
- Literary and Philosophical Remarks. A teleidoscope is a kind of Kaleidoscope. Unlike other kaleidoscopes teleidoscopes have a lens and an open view so they can be used to form kaleidoscopic patterns A kaleidoplex is a projecting Kaleidoscope that shines a complex continuously changing image on a surface
- Kaleidoscope History
- How to use a Kaleidoscope
- Digital Kaleidoscope the Kaleidica
- Kaleidoscope Mirror Designs
- Kaleider Digital Imagery
- PhotoEchoes Digital Kaleidoscope
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