SYNTHESIS OF MOVEMENT 313 



about during a period of many years, would pass before 

 the eyes of the beholder in the course of a few seconds, 

 and thus the stages of a man's existence would pass 

 in review before the gaze of the onlookers in the form 

 of a strange and marvellous metamorphosis. 



This method invented by Plateau seems likely to 

 extend our knowledge as regards all kinds of pheno- 

 mena. But the future of the method is dependent on 

 the possible correction which can be effected in the 

 distortion of the images, and on the discovery of a 

 satisfactory means of projecting a number of moving 

 figures on a screen, so as to be visible to a large 

 audience. And, further, it will be necessary to augment 

 the number of successive photographs, so as to represent 

 a performance of considerable duration. 



Improvements suggested by Different Makers. — 80 

 that the images might be projected without distortion, 

 several object-glasses were arranged in a circle, and 

 at the focus of each positive images were arranged 

 representing the different phases of a movement, All 

 the object-glasses were directed towards the same 

 spot on the screen in such a way that by successively 

 illuminating each of the positive images placed behind 

 them, the corresponding attitudes were successively 

 projected on the screen. To effect the successive 

 illuminations of the slides, it has been suggested that 

 a Drumont lamp should be made to revolve as a source 

 of light. 



Images projected in this way ought to be perfect ; 

 but the focussing of each, and the determination of 

 the direction of the object-glasses, would be a most 

 laborious operation. Moreover, the number of object- 

 glasses is necessarily limited to five or six, and thus 

 the extent of the movement periodically repeated, 

 as the lamp completes its revolution, is necessarily 

 very short. 



