Light Art: LEDs, Pixels & Persistence of Vision
Tiny lights, infinite art
Tiny lights, infinite art
Every color on your screen is made from just three LEDs: red, green, and blue. Adjust each slider to mix any color.
rgb(255, 100, 50) = warm orange
Arrange LEDs in a grid and each one becomes a pixel. Click to paint on this 16x12 LED matrix. This is exactly how LED art panels and stadium screens work.
Your brain holds onto an image for about 1/16th of a second after it disappears. Flash images faster than that and they blur together into smooth motion. Adjust the speed to see individual frames merge into animation.
At 4 fps you see distinct frames. Increase to see them blend.
Movies run at 24 frames per second. TV runs at 30 or 60. VR headsets need 90+ fps to avoid motion sickness. Your brain is surprisingly picky about smoothness.
The same RGB LED technology powers everything from your phone to Times Square.
An OLED phone screen has individual LEDs for each pixel. Each one emits its own light, which is why OLED blacks are truly black (the pixel is just off).
Artists use addressable LED strips (like WS2812B) to create sculptures, wearables, and interactive installations. Each LED is individually programmable.
Giant LED boards at stadiums use the same RGB principle, just at massive scale. A single panel might have 50,000 LEDs, and a full display links hundreds of panels.
Spin a strip of LEDs fast enough and persistence of vision creates a floating image in mid-air. Used in clocks, advertising, and art installations.
You've explored how tiny LEDs create color, form images on grids, and trick your eyes with persistence of vision. The same technology powers every screen you look at.
Unlike bulbs that heat a filament, LEDs convert electricity directly to light. They are tiny, efficient, and last tens of thousands of hours.
Three LEDs (red, green, blue) at different brightnesses can produce any visible color. Your phone screen has millions of these RGB triplets.
Arrange LEDs in rows and columns and you have a display. Each LED is a pixel. More pixels = sharper image. A 4K TV has over 8 million pixels.
Flash LEDs fast enough and your brain sees a continuous image. This persistence of vision is how spinning LED displays and movie screens work.
Put your new knowledge into practice!