How It's Made - Kaleidoscopes

Invented in the early 19th century by a Scottish scientist studying light,

the kaleidoscope can still compete when it comes to producing stunning visual effects.

Peer inside and witness dazzling geometric images produced as mirrors multiply objects.

The images are spectacular and fleeting,

each one lasting just seconds before the next appears.

Many years after its invention, the kaleidoscope is still worth looking into.

To make a kaleidoscope, this craftsman starts with the mirror sheet that has adhesive backing.

He scores it to create long and narrow rectangles and gently breaks it along the scored lines.

The mirror's reflective coating is on the front instead of the underside.

A mirror like this produces sharper reflections than a regular household mirror.

He slices the adhesive backing to separate the mirrored rectangles.

He snaps off the scored ends, creating perfectly linear edges.

Next, he peels backing from a strip of blackout felt paper

and wraps it around a glass rectangle.

This felt wrapped glass will be the third wall of the two mirror system,

one with a triangular configuration.

He removes the adhesive film from the mirrors,

then builds the triangles with the mirror's reflective surfaces facing inward towards the felt-wrapped rectangle.

This arrangement will reflect objects to create a circular image known as a mandala.

He aims the mirrors system at a light box with a two line drawing in it.

One line is curved and the other is straight.

Peering into it, he adjusts the alignment of the mirrors until the lines morph into a five point star.

This means the corners of the mirror triangle are precisely 36 degrees

and it is multiplying images correctly.

He hot glues the mirrors to the opaque part

and applies metal tape to the top seam to complete the kaleidoscope mirror system.

Over in the art department, the artist assembles decorative objects against a black background and an acrylic cell.

With every placement, she checks the effect through the triangular mirror system.

She glues dichroic glass onto the backdrop.

It's a kind of glass that's been treated with metal oxides and it appears to have different hues.

Other objects include jewelry parts, colored wire, buttons, and even paper clips.

She follows no specific design but works free style.

While she glues some down, she leaves others loose to simply tumble around.

A sprinkle of tiny beads completes the grouping.

As the mirror system multiplies these objects, they will create the mandalas.

These are photographs of actual mandalas,

and they'll be used to decorate the outside of the kaleidoscope.

The other member of the team now applies an acrylic adhesive to the rim of the cell and presses a clear lid onto it.

The lid fuses to the cell body,

but it's not yet completely sealed.

There's a tiny hole in the side of the cell through which he now dispenses heavy mineral oil.

Submerged in mineral oil, the objects will float and move through the cell for greater effect.

He plugs the hole with an acrylic adhesive and screw.

He is now ready to assemble all the parts of the kaleidoscope.

He slides the mirror system into a heavy cardboard tube decorated by the mandala photos.

He cushions the mirror system with foam, and this stabilizes it.

He installs a metal eyepiece and glass lands on one end of the kaleidoscope too.

He slides the object cell into a protective metal cage that rotates.

He places a transparent glass disk over the cell.

He applies adhesive to the cage and inserts the assembly into the other end of the kaleidoscope tube.

This kaleidoscope is now ready for a viewing.

Light passes through the object cell, illuminating the trinkets.

Reflections bounce off the mirrors to create one spectacular illusion after another.

Two centuries after its invention, the view through the kaleidoscope still fascinates.