Psychologists have spent a lot of time studying the features of visual perception. It turned out that under certain conditions it is quite possible to deceive even the most sophisticated observer by creating an optical illusion that can cause bewilderment and surprise. It was to demonstrate one of the optical effects that the Ames room was invented.
How the Ames room works
In the mid-30s of the last century, the American ophthalmologist Albert Ames invented, designed and built a facility designed to demonstrate an interesting optical illusion.
The scientist's invention looked like a room of irregular shape and was named "Ames's room"
At first glance, the magic room has a standard look. The room looks like a standard cube with a back wall and two side walls that are parallel to each other. Ceiling and floor surfaces appear horizontal. But in reality, Ames' room is a volumetric trapezoid. Its walls, ceiling and floor are slightly sloped. The most important thing is that the left corner of the room is located much farther than the right, if you look at the back wall from the side of the observer who entered the room.
To create a sense of reality, the pictures arrange the interior of the room in a special way. The setting is done so that it does not contain the slightest sign of difference in distance. The floor is decorated with a pattern of squares, which in fact are not squares, but are in the form of rhombuses. The size of the coverage elements in the corner closest to the observer is smaller than in the opposite one. In addition, the floor level is not made strictly horizontal, but with a slope. But the eye is not able to catch such subtleties.
Ames room: dive into the illusion
The result is a three-dimensional optical illusion. If two people of approximately the same height are placed in the left and right corners of the room, the one on the right will seem to the observer to be a giant, and the one on the left will look like a dwarf.
If you ask a participant in the experiment to move forward from the left corner to the right, he will literally increase in size before our eyes.
Experts in the field of psychology of perception have found that such an optical illusion can be created without the use of a ceiling and walls. To deceive the observer, all you need is a visible horizon and a corresponding background. It is also important that the gaze falls on the object that is above the horizontal line.
The principles on which the Ames illusion is built have become widespread not only in attractions, but also in cinematography. In this way, the operators create special effects, thanks to which a person of ordinary height becomes a giant in comparison with other characters. If you change the exposure, the giant can quickly turn into a dwarf.
