Persistence of Vision

Persistence of Vision

Persistence of vision refers to the optical illusion of a moving image that really is not moving. This how most animation works as it is to show fluent movement of characters and objects. By showing us a range of different images in a short and quick space of time, we will have the illusion of movement. 

The thaumatrope and roller both work as you have to move both images relatively quickly before you can begin to have the illusion that they are moving by themselves. This is due to both images being moved quickly enough so that it allows our eyes to see two images moving by themselves.