How the Pepper's Ghost Illusion Works
Chapter 1

The illusion of depth before computers

Chapter 2

True holograms and the physics of light

Chapter 3

Digital light fields and volumetric displays

Chapter 4

Gaussian splatting and the future of 3D capture

YOUR GOAL

Master of Chasing ghosts and splats in the world of 3D light

Ch 1 · The illusion of depth before computers
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007skaty The Pepper's Ghost illusion projects transparent spirits onto theater stages

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007skaty Pepper's Ghost Illusion

Just a reflection, just a reflection, Angled glass makes the magic real.

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We easily construct a deep reality from flat, simple inputs.

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007skaty Terrifying phantasmagoria shows shocked theatergoers in Paris.

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The Pepper's Ghost theater trick

007skaty At London's Royal Polytechnic Institution, Henry Dircks's illusion used a 45-degree glass sheet to reflect hidden actors as

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The terrifying phantasmagoria shows in Paris

007skaty Glossy holographic ghosts and colorful 3D projections recreate a terrifying Parisian phantasmagoria.

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Tiny Depth Box
BETA

007skaty Align the light slices inside the box to discover how flat projections create 3D depth.

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Fun Fact

Pepper's Ghost: The famous stage illusion does not use mirrors, but a single sheet of glass to reflect light.

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Glossary
stereoscope (noun)
An optical instrument that combines two flat, slightly different images to create a three-dimensional perspective. Sir Charles Wheatstone invented the mirror-based device in 1838 to demonstrate binocular depth perception.

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Gossip

Which historical illusion would you most want to see in person?

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Quiz

What optical phenomenon does the stereoscope exploit to create a 3D effect?

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007skaty Christiaan Huygens designed the magic lantern.

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Quiz

What kind of light source did the earliest 17th-century magic lanterns rely on?

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007skaty Sir Charles Wheatstone designed a stereoscope to explain human depth perception.

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Quiz

What device did Christiaan Huygens invent in 1659 that used glass slides to project images?

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Quiz

Who invented the stereoscope in 1838 to prove how binocular vision works?

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Quiz

What material is used to reflect the hidden actor in a Pepper's Ghost illusion?

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Quiz

Why did Robertson mount his magic lanterns on wheels during his 1798 shows?

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Quiz

At what angle is the glass pane positioned in a classic Pepper's Ghost stage illusion?

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Quiz

Where did Robertson hold his famous 1798 phantasmagoria ghost shows?

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