Light Painting With a Frisbee - Pre-Smarter Every Day

Open-shutter photography involves keeping the camera shutter open for an extended period of time while performing actions in front of the camera, then closing the shutter to capture the compiled results.

• Filming in a dark driveway at night • White LED light on Destin's head for visibility • Red light on Shawn (brother-in-law) for camera visibility • External light source to illuminate the presenter

• Color-changing frisbee • Light-up ball that activates when bounced • X-Zylo with glow sticks (gyroscope-like toy thrown like a football)

Demonstrate open-shutter photography techniques using light-emitting objects, then show techniques that can be replicated at home.

Shawn waves the color-changing frisbee while wearing red clothing. Destin wears a white LED on his head to remain visible in the dark environment.

The open-shutter camera captures the frisbee's movement as it creates light trails, showing the path and trajectory of the colored light as it moves through the air.

The contrast between normal darkness and the illuminated light trails captured by the open-shutter technique creates a striking visual effect.

Successfully demonstrates how open-shutter photography can compile the frisbee's movement into a single image showing the light path.

The experiment demonstrates conic sections and parabolic motion—the curved trajectory that a bouncing ball follows under the influence of gravity.

A light-up ball that illuminates when bounced, allowing its motion path to be captured by the open-shutter camera.

The camera's extended shutter captures the ball's complete parabolic arc as it bounces, creating a clear visual representation of the mathematical curve.

Provides a practical, visual demonstration of physics principles—how gravity affects projectile motion and creates parabolic paths.

The X-Zylo is a gyroscope-like device with activated glow sticks, thrown through the air like a football with unique stabilization properties.

• Spin stabilization from the rotating motion • Aerodynamic stabilization from its design • Torque vector added to gravitational forces • Creates complex, unpredictable motion patterns

The combination of gravity, spin, torque, and aerodynamic forces creates strange and complex light trails that differ significantly from simple parabolic motion.

This experiment captures the most complex motion patterns yet, showing how multiple physical forces interact to create intricate light paths in open-shutter photography.