Optical toys form a group of devices with some entertainment value combined with a scientific, optical nature. Many of these were also known as "philosophical toys" when they were developed in the 19th century.
People must have experimented with optical phenomena since prehistoric times and played with objects that influenced the experience of light, color and shadow. In the 16th century some experimental optical entertainment - for instance camera obscura demonstrations - were part of the cabinets of curiosities that emerged at royal courts. Since the 17th century optical tabletop instruments such as the compound microscope and telescope were used for parlour entertainment in richer households .
Other, larger devices - such as peep shows - were usually exhibited by travelling showmen at fairs.
The phenakistiscope, zoetrope, praxinoscope and flip book a.o. are often seen as precursors of film, leading to the invention of cinema at the end of the 19th century. In the 21st century this narrow teleological vision was questioned and the individual qualities of these media gained renewed attention of researchers in the fields of the history of film, science, technology and art. The new digital media raised questions about our knowledge of media history. The tactile qualities of optical toys that allow viewers to study and play with the moving image in their own hands, seem more attractive in a time when digital transformation makes the moving image less tangible.[1]
Several philosophical toys were developed through scientific experimentation, then turned into scientific amusements that demonstrated new ideas and theories in the fields of optics, physics, electricity, mechanics, etc. and ended up as toys for children.[2]
^Mary Ann Diane Scale and movement in Apparaturen bewegter Bilder (2006 LIT Verlag)
^"Visual Media / Optical Toys - Kinetic Toys - Jouet Séditieuse / Page 1". users.telenet.be. Archived from the original on 2004-08-13.
Opticaltoys form a group of devices with some entertainment value combined with a scientific, optical nature. Many of these were also known as "philosophical...
gallery) An exhibit of similar opticaltoys, including the zoetrope (Laura Hayes and John Howard Wileman Exhibit of OpticalToys in the NCSSM) Some pictures...
The kaleidophone is a "philosophical toy" that produces moving optical figures. The kaleidophone was invented by Charles Wheatstone, who published an...
has often been mistaken to be the explanation for motion perception in opticaltoys like the phenakistiscope and the zoetrope, and later in cinema. This...
Kenyon College Department of Physics A demonstration of this and similar opticaltoys, including the zoetrope The Influence of Emile Reynaud More on Reynaud's...
Mecklenburg-Güstow of Denmark" (PDF). Robert Simon Fine Art. Oster, Gerald (1965). "Optical Art". Applied Optics. 4 (11): 1359–69. Bibcode:1965ApOpt...4.1359O. doi:10...
Kaleidoscope – Optical instrument to view patterns due to repeated reflection Mirror image – Reflected duplication of an object Optical cavity – Arrangement...
A kaleidoscope (/kəˈlaɪdəskoʊp/) is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces (or mirrors) tilted to each other at an angle, so that...
in 1970 and granted in 1972. The lens at the end of the tube is not an optical requirement, but protects the internals of the teleidoscope. A spherical...
precursors of toy theatres, with movable scenes and paper figurines, popular in the 19th century. They can also be seen as predecessors to opticaltoys like Chinese...
containing image pairs, was popular first for 'virtual tourism' and then as a toy. In 2010, Hasbro started producing a stereoscope designed to hold an iPhone...
A thaumatrope is an opticaltoy that was popular in the 19th century. A disk with a picture on each side is attached to two pieces of string. When the...
as demonstrated by a light-ray diagram he constructed in 555 AD. In his optical treatise De Aspectibus, Al-Kindi (c. 801–873) wrote about pinhole images...
about the problem. "Opticaltoys: Early Visual Media - Pre-cinema - Opticaltoys - Animation - Plateau - Zootrope - Philosophical toys". Archived from the...
This article is a list of toys, toy sets, and toy systems; the toys included are widely popular (either currently or historically) and provide illustrative...
image. It is used in painting, photography, sculpture and installation, toys, and film special effects. The word is derived from the Greek prefix ana-...
doi:10.1167/7.6.10. ISSN 1534-7362. PMID 17685793. "Visual Media / OpticalToys - The Choreutoscope". users.telenet.be. Archived from the original on...
Since the late 19th century, smaller versions were also mass-produced as toys. The magic lantern was in wide use from the 18th century until the mid-20th...
The Kaiserpanorama (or Kaiser-Panorama) is a form of stereoscopic entertainment medium used chiefly in the 19th and early 20th centuries, a precursor to...
aeronautics, hydraulics and pyrotechnics". Some bills do not even mention any optical effects. However, an 1812 newspaper about a London performance indicates...
more common from the 1950s onward. Now flipbooks are largely considered a toy or novelty for children and were once a common "prize" in cereal and Cracker...
natural scene, the depicted depth will be enhanced. Peep show Stereoscope Opticaltoys Rayok Permutt, Cyril (1976). Collecting Old Cameras. New York: DaCapo...
known by the French terms feux pyriques or feux arabesques, is a type of opticaltoy box that displays pictures with twinkling light effects. The pictures...
and plastic are used to make toys. Newer forms of toys include interactive digital entertainment and smart toys. Some toys are produced primarily as collectors'...
2017. Fidget Cube Stress ball Pop it (toy) Infinity Cube Jaffe, Ali (2017-06-05). "Quit Worrying, Fidget Toys Have Been Around Forever". Atlas Obscura...
An optical fiber, or optical fibre, is a flexible glass or plastic fiber that can transmit light from one end to the other. Such fibers find wide usage...
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