In this series, of easy to learn and perform magician tricks, I am featuring tricks that can be accomplished using readily available supplies. Each mysterious and entertaining trick is really an experiment in physics, chemistry or perception. Learn these amazing tricks and learn some science along the way. You really can't lose if you put your mind to it. Once you have learnt these tricks and understand the principles behind them, with a little imagination, you will be able to create your very own tricks to astonish and wow all of your friends.
Matter Through Matter: A Motion Illusion
You will need a) a large safety pin b) a 2 1/2 inch stick of wood or plastic. A wooden match is perfect if you cut off the head.
Procedure
Push the pin through the exact center of the stick, than move the stick to the center of the shaft of the pin. Enlarge the hole a little by wiggling the stick around so that it moves freely but will still hold its position when you stop moving it.
Create the Illusion
Hold the head of the pin in one hand.
Turn the stick so the top is behind the top shaft of the pin, as the pin faces the audience. The stick is rotating on the bottom shaft of the pin.
Bring your forefinger of your other hand down hard on the bottom end of the stick, applying the pressure towards your body, as you stand so your audience can see the trick. The top end will appear to move forward, through the top shaft of the pin.
To repeat the illusion, reset the stick to the original position where the top of the stick is behind the top shaft of the pin.
Explanation of What's Really Happening
The stick really moves forward and bounces off of the top shaft of the pin. It is the bottom end of the stick that winds up in front of the top shaft of the pin but it appears as though the top of the stick has moved through the shaft of the pin.
The Reason this Illusion Works
1. The human eye cannot follow an object that is moving extremely fast. The motion of the stick is too quick to see.
2. When the human eye receives slightly different images of an object in a fraction of a second, there is an illusion of motion. The viewer sees two images, one behind and one in front of the shaft of the pin. Our brain then puts the two images together to make it appear that there is a sequence of motion.
3. The viewers have experience with the hand movements that set the stick in motion. They believe that the downward motion of your finger should cause the top of the stick to move forward. They do not realize that the downward motion can produce a bounce, moving the bottom upward. Since the two ends of the stick are the same, the illusion works.
Does this trick inspire you to try some other matter through matter illusion tricks? Does this help in understanding the illusion of people walking through a brick wall? Well, maybe that's going too far too fast, for now just realize that there are many ways of creating illusions. What you think you saw did not really happen. The way your brain interprets what it saw can be very misleading. These are the tricks of the magician's trade and even when you are well aware of these facts and the principles behind them, it still does not alter the joy we feel when being thus entertained.
Yours Magically
Solomon
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