Moving image
Color & afterimages / 1894
Benham’s Disc
A rotating black-and-white disc can produce fleeting colors.
TRY THIS
Press Play animation and look for faint colors on the moving arcs. Pause to inspect the monochrome pattern.
THE IMAGE IN THIS ARCHIVE
Benham's_Disc.svg: *derivative work: Zureks (talk)
Original file & attribution · Public domain
This locally stored image is a Wikimedia Commons rendition (resized or rendered from the source file). The full original is linked from the source record. Gallery previews may be resized or converted to WebP; animated previews show the first frame.
Download imageFrequently asked questions
What is Benham’s Disc?
A rotating black-and-white disc can produce fleeting colors.
What should I look for in Benham’s Disc?
Press Play animation and look for faint colors on the moving arcs. Pause to inspect the monochrome pattern.
What explains Benham’s Disc?
Temporal changes in a black-and-white pattern can produce perceived color. The appearance depends on speed, the observer, and the display, so a particular color is not guaranteed.
