why do digital numbers bounce?

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When I’m chewing something crunchy, like Captain Crunch why do the numbers on my microwave bounce?

In: Technology

3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Thank you all so much! I had wondered if it was similar to seeing some lights on a slow motion camera.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Many LED numbers and LCD displays do not glow constantly, but blink rather quickly, refreshing the image. When your eyes vibrate, you perceive these series of images as bouncing around because the position of your eyes changes slightly between images.

Anonymous 0 Comments

The numbers on the microwave aren’t solidly lit, they blink really fast. They have a high enough refresh rate that you can’t tell under normal circumstances. When you chew something crunchy, the crunching is shaking your head and making that refresh rate more visible, so it leaves a sort of “trail” imprint on your vision.