About This Illusion
Circular Motion Illusion is an interactive educational simulation that demonstrates how
circular motion creates linear oscillations. Each dot appears to move in a circle, but is actually only
moving back and forth along a straight line. This is the foundation of trigonometry—sine and cosine
functions describe how a point's coordinates change as it moves around a circle. It is part of the
BioniChaos collection of biomedical signal processing tools and visualizations.
Try different modes to see how this connects to wave functions. The "illusion" shows multiple dots on spokes,
while "sine wave" and "cosine wave" show how the vertical and horizontal positions create wave patterns over
time.
You can drag the blue point on the circle to control the animation manually in most modes.
How to Use
- Modes: Use the Mode dropdown to switch between different visualizations:
Illusion, Two Dots, Sine Wave, Cosine Wave, and Both Waves.
- Controls: Adjust Speed and Number of Lines with the sliders. Toggle
Show Helpers and Show Lines for additional visual guides.
- Interaction: Click and drag the blue point on the circle to manually control the
animation angle. Use the Play button or press Space to pause/resume.
- Reset: Click Reset to return the animation to its starting position.
Future Directions
- Audio feedback to sonify the motion and waveforms for multisensory learning.
- Customizable parameters for advanced exploration (e.g., phase shift, amplitude, frequency).
- Export options for images or data snapshots.
- Accessibility improvements and mobile optimization.
- Integration with other BioniChaos signal processing and visualization tools.
For more interactive simulations and resources, visit
bionichaos.com.