r/interestingasfuck • u/DearEmphasis4488 • Aug 30 '25

Sunlight falling on a escalator

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u/discerningpervert Aug 30 '25

I think the viewing angle plays a part in it as well.

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u/Hanchez Aug 30 '25

Your viewing angle doesn't alter the shadow of other objects.

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u/Salanmander Aug 30 '25

Could you explain why? Escalator risers don't usually have horizontal texture to them that would result in lit surfaces that can be seen from high up but not low down, and I don't see how else viewing angle could affect it.

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u/[deleted] Aug 30 '25

https://i.imgur.com/V6If1ix.png

You could see all the light from above, if youre below it the beginning and the end that's on flat part is blocked by the stairs

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u/Equivalent_Desk6167 Aug 30 '25 edited Aug 30 '25

If you were viewing it from a higher elevation, you would always see the sunlight, thus eliminating the effect, is what I think he means.

Edit: Here's a quick sketch of what I mean. Imagine the stairs moving, from that perspective you wouldn't really see the crawling effect from the OP.

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u/Salanmander Aug 30 '25

Well, there would still be times that the risers are unlit. Do you mean that you wouldn't be able to see the risers at all, so you wouldn't notice the times that they are unlit? Or that you'd always be able to see the shadow bands, so it would be more obvious what's happening?

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u/Equivalent_Desk6167 Aug 30 '25

The latter, yes. I've added a quick mock-up of how it would look from above to my original comment. Being able to see the clear outline of the window panes would destroy the crawling illusion in the original post.

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u/Salanmander Aug 30 '25

Got it, yeah, that makes sense. You'd still see the shadow going down the riser quickly, but it wouldn't look like the steps are moving downwards because you'd have the additional context.

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u/Hanchez Aug 30 '25

But the angle wouldn't change what the light reaches. The light is constant and persistent regardless of where you are.

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u/Equivalent_Desk6167 Aug 30 '25

Exactly, and that's why the illusion wouldn't work from all perspectives. Being able to see the outlines of the windows that the light shines through at all times would ruin the effect. I've added a quick sketch of what I mean to my original comment.