By Vurdlak on December 24, 2007, with 116 Comments
Just found this animation in my mailbox which was submitted by one of our fans – Brad Snyder. I’m not exactly sure how it functions, but the illusion should be similar with our famous Spinning Girl illusion. Apparently the gem we see below is rotating in only one direction. Because it is shallow, it gives you impression it changes direction every few seconds. Don’t take me for granted, though. I have a feeling I don’t get this illusion in its full sense. I would appreciate if some of you managed to understand it, and post a clue for me and others via comments section. If my intuition is right, this can easily be one of the greatest illusions on this site. If I was wrong, don’t hate me…
(38 votes)
THAT IS AWESOME
I don’t think I get its full sense either…I’m not sure, though.
try to look at from a different spacial perspective, in sort of a 3-D sense
It works the same way that spinning hollow masks work. It is not a full jewel. It’s the inside and outside of the edge of one.
the triangles sometimes look like they are in front, like a six-sided cone, other times the triangles are in back,making it look like shadows or a hollow one. this makes it look like it is constantly changing.
You may say it rotates in only one direction, but it keeps changing directions for me. The lower facets seem to be almost transparent, and the face seems opaque,starting out clockwise, then changes. This is a fantastic illusion!!
Awsome. Can’t help you, though. Sorry.
OMG I think i get it! See it is only moving in one direction but when it gets to a certain point while turning it looks like it is turning in the opposite direction when it really isn’t. That’s the illusion. Wow it’s trippy lol @_@
Pretty cool.
It reminds me of when I was a kid and we did those 3-boxes and it looked different when you blinked your eyes. I don’t know how it works, but it is cool.
ok….
1st blog????
if so, YAY!!!!
I dont think this is possible for someone to make this illusion move a full 360 degrees in their head. So the spinning girl is good to focus your right and left brain together, like before a test. But this is not. It is just, well, an illusion.
Acutally my last comment was off. It is possible t turn it a full 360 Degrees, but because of the opposite spinning it is extremely hard. So this would help you think better, but it is also very frustrating.
Seems like this might be cheating… you can only see through the bottom portion of the diamond when the illusion needs you to see the underside of the top of the diamond. You should be able to see the other facets of the bottom portion through the opposite-side bottom facet for this to be a non-cheating illusion.
I have uncovered the secret: It is a badly made optical illusion, that’s why it seems to change its rotation every few seconds.
The gem is supposed to be semi-transparent, and on the top part they did fine. On the bottom, however, they only show one side of the facets, when they should be showing both sides of the gem, one moving in the opposite direction and slightly dimmer.
~Logarithm~
sweet!
Imagine a spotlight on a record player…thus giving the look of see through and solid…just my two cents
Wow this is really cool…
It takes a minute to see it, though
it looks like the top rotates counterclockwise after it disapears from the left corner..
If you watch the tip or point of the gem at the bottom it is obvious that it is rotating in only one direction. The illusion comes from the fact that as it rotates you can see through the gem thus the flat top is visable from the backside or inside thus giving the illusion that it is rotating in the opposite direction.
Holy crap, thats awesome.
It’s spinning clockwise. Focus on it and nothing else. And Vurdlak is 100% correct. Bravo! This illusion is truly one of the best in this site. Keep going! ;)
wow!!
this will amuse me for hours :)
the gem does only spin one direction!
the sides are transparent, so you can see the top surface even if it is facing away, which is where the illusion comes from
it goes around in a full circle
awesome
lol thats pretty freaky !
is it hollo or something or is the top spinning back?
it’s confusing!
its a translucent 3-d object rotating on a tilted axis, much like the earth, such that you are just viewing the top from behind, or inside the gem, much like viewing north america from asia thru the earth. if you watch, the long triangles meet up with the small ones the entire time, you just are looking thru the long triangles and from behind the small ones. everything is a matter of perception. percieve from another perspective. peace
Pretty cool… and I think I got it. it’s because it’s see-through.
Oh yeah that’s awesome. FIRST!
Thats a cool animation… what way’s it spinning?! =]
It does give the impression that it is going both directions.
Wasn’t all that easy to spot for me. Nice thing though.
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,22492511-5005375,00.html
here the explanation.
OK, I’ll try to explain what I see here.
Imagine that the cone is transparent. So sometimes you see the flat surface (the one consisting of the six triangles) from the outside and sometimes from the inside, through the cone. Then you lose the impression of it changing its turning direction.
hi,
you need a very concrete idea of a gem to understand this illusion.
for somebody who had never seen a gem there are only flickering shapes.
but! you have to think a bit abstract because for somebody who have an idea how the ligtht reflexes etc. in this gem really works are it just a worse graphical representation of a gem.
with a bad display of hidden edges and transparency.
^^ worse english, i know but i can’t really explain it in german.
was ich allerdings damit sagen möchte is, dass es ansichtssache ist, wenn jemand ne klare vorstellung von nem edelstein hat ist es nur ne schlachte darstellung eines edelsteines. und wenn jemand überhauptkeine ahnung hat was ein edelstein ist sind es nur flackernde formen.
also brauch man etwas abstraktes denken und die unwissenheit über die wirkliche lichtbrechung, darstellung von verdeckten kanten und transparenz.
btw. in fact it is just a bad rendering of a green pyramid in a green room.
also es ist in wirklichkeit nur ne schlecht gerenderte grüne pyramiede in einem grünen raum.
thx, alpha
First comment. And Im confused.
GREAT!!!!!!!!
On the spinning girl–I had to stare at her pivot heel to make her change direction.
I can’t get this one to work.
(shrugs)
hehe great
coooooooool
Yeah, I can see it…
clockwise, it goes.
conter clockwishe, it shows
or something like that :-)
i don’t want to let you know everiting ;-)
i needed a minute to understand…
i had to imagine, the object is transparent. even if its not…
but try urself
HOLY CRAP THATS SICK!
Its almost like its invisable
It looks like in one part its base looks hollow and it loses one side of its base
It’s not moving; it’s static. Maybe it’s broken? I tried it in IE and Firefox, but it’s still just a picture of a gem, not an animation. What gives?
Ahh, I see it now. I had a script blocker on.
If you adjust your view so that just the bottom of the cone is showing you can then see that it is actually only moving in one direction.
try to watch it and think of it as moving in only one direction. if you look at it the way I see it, it seems as if when it appears to change directions, you see it from the bottom, looking into it. sorry, but that’s the best I can describe what I see.
Where is your attention? Which side of the rabbit hole be thee on? The rabbit hole is the mirror of our attention. The illusion comes in this type from a swapping of viewpoint from one side to the other. Most obvious in the spinning girl. Direction change noted by the high leg changing from left to right and vice versa.
The gem, however, reveals symmetry swap by concentrating on the top. The bottom point does not swap. Block the top off with something and see that the bottom only turns counterclockwise.
Coin toss as to which is best; the spinning gem or the girl. Both are #1 and #2 for best illusion.
just look nd follow a dark traingle of the three 1s;nd follow its sense of rotating with the side of the prism it holds ; it looks wierd cuz its rotating twice
Woah! I totally get it.
That’s cool.
*yawn*
i could be very wrong, but from looking at it it seems like the top and bottom turn in the same direction for some time, but then at one point, the top or bottom stops spinning and the other part continues, creating the illusion that its spinning in reverse
maybe?
well either way its a pretty awesome illusion
:D
FREAKIN SWEET
Pish-posh, I’ve seen much more complicated illusions in my lifetime. This one is very simple. The top of the diamond spins half the time the opposite way then the body of the jewl. Case closed.
If you stare at the bottom/point, it always appears to be in the same direction.
The top is what gives the illusion. If you cover up the top with your hand then the bottom will just keep going in the same direction.
Maybe I’m stupid, but its only spinning one direction…
That was pretty awesome :D Could have been more exiting colors thought.
PS: You should set someone else in charge for the magic site… If you are in trouble of finding one I guess I might be able to run it, atleast better than your brother (Don’t take that bad)
not bad. by far the best animated illusion on the website. well done.
Lame. The bottom continues in one direction and the top switched back and forth. Easy to see. I don’t get the fascination.
the trick is rather simple. It relies on retinal disparity in the shading of the lighter hexagonal “top” and darker triangular “bottom”. This first creates a three dimensional appearance, which is then confused with the movement.
When the top and bottom are in alignment (spinning the same direction) our brain appropriates this to mean that the object is solid.
However, when the top section reverses rotation, yet stays in the fore layer of the image, the lighter overall shading still makes it seem to be in front, as a 3D image. The reversed rotation of the bottom section separates it from physical attachment to the top and we therefore perceive the object to be hollow.
Does that make sense?
If you keep your eyes on the pointed end of the cone, you’ll see that it rotates in only one direction.
This is a tricky one, but its basically the same as the rotating girl one.
The upper part ist the part that makes the brain switch directions, BUT if you cover it with a hand or omething you can also make the lower part turn in either way.
If you now slowly take away the cover you can take control of the entire strukture.
Once you get the knack, you can have it turn in the direction of your choice ;) (so as said before it’s basically the same as the rotating lady dancer)
It is rotating in one direction. look at the tip on the bottom. It rotates clockwise. Hope this helps.
i agree w/ kevin… when the triangles “match up” it turns “hollow”
This is cool!! I like it!!
If u just watch the bottom of it the whole time, u can see how it’s moving in only one direction. It messes up ur mind if u watch the top. it’s REALLY COOL!!
It has no sense in reality …. is an image in three dimensions that when the top is in a position in which it should be behind the body appears forward… nothing else….
For all of you ppl who are saying this illusion is silly or not good: shut up and go home!if you think it’s that bad why don’t you make your own illusions site!
btw Draikyn, i read your comment like 5 times and still dont get a thing :D
THIS IS AWSMOME!! the point of it is when you watch it for a while it changes rotation the other way and back again!
I think its like this..The Gem is supposedly spinning in one direction but if u notice closely, due to the shadow, the gem is spinning only half direction..Half way clockwise, halfway anti-clockwise..
THE GEM APPEARS TO CHANGE DIRECTION BECAUSE MOST OF THE FACES ARE ‘TRANSPARENT.’
ONLY THE TOP FACE IS NOT CLEAR- THE PATTERN ON IT SHOWS THAT IT IS OPAQUE, AND THIS FOOLS US INTO THINKING THE REST OF THE FACES ARE TOO.
THEY’RE NOT!!!
IF YOU STOP SEEING THE FACES AS SOLID AND OPAQUE, THE GEM WILL NO LONGER FOOL YOU.
So just imagine the gem is made of glass- so you are always either looking AT the top face directly, or you are seeing it THROUGH the other facets.
And one more thing- THE GEM IS ACTUALLY SPINNING ANTI-CLOCKWISE. IT DOES NOT WORK THE OTHER WAY.
hope that helped…
Some people did have similar ideas before me, so, well, sorry to those people.
Normally I’m one of the people who whinges when someone says what was already said…
so again, sorry.
This is spinning in one direction. One side of the spinning object is transparent and allows you to see the top from the underside. When the transparent side is visible this makes the object seem to change direction, but it does not. Cover the top portion of the object with your hand and focus on the bottom point and you will see that there is no change in rotational direction. :)
If you watch the bottom tip of it(the point) it won’t look like it’s changing direction.
If you concentrate on the sides and not the top, you can see that it does actually only rotate in one direction but a slight distraction and even then it appears to be rotating the other way.
Very cool illusion.
you have to look at it from the inside and only look at the top from underneath…as soon as you look at the top of the gem from the top it seems to change direction…concentrate because as soon as you lose it it appears to be changing directions.
I think it was amazing and didnt get it at first, but think I understand now!!!
this is driving me CRAZY!!!!
Very cool!
I scrolled my browser window so that I could see only the bottom, and then only the top, to see if it really was spinning in just one direction…
Obviously, yes, it really is. But it was neat seeing it that way.
I’m not sure I fully get it… But then again, it’s late and I should be finishing some projects and not looking at 3D diamond optical illusions but you know how it is…
there are two separate rotations, one is visible from the point at the bottom, the other you will notice if you watch one of the top points of the object.