TOPIC: Peppers GhostGENERAL PURPOSE: To present about a light science phenomenonSPECIFIC PURPOSE: To inform my classmates of Peppers GhostTHESIS: Peppers Ghost is not a new phenomenon but rather still has a wide variety of applications today.

Introduction:I. Good afternoon, Im Kimberly Sears. How many of you have been on Disneys Haunted Mansion ride? [ask for show of hands] Do you recall the ballroom scene in which dozens of ghosts whirl around the room and appear to actually be transparent ghosts?II. Today, we will discuss the creation of this spooky illusion, its discovery just over 150 years ago, and how it is still used in a variety of ways.

Body:I. This light illusion is called Peppers Ghost.a. It is named after its creator, J.H. Pepper.b. Pepper was a professor at the Royal Polytechnic in London, England where he wowed his lecture halls and chemistry labs. He would dazzle them with magic and science, creating illusions like his namesake technique Peppers Ghost.c. After teaching at the Royal Polytechnic, Pepper began to give traveling lectures to amazed public audiences in the United States and Australia.d. In 1852, he earned the Polytechnics Honorary Director and Professor award for his knack to impress both academic and public audiences.II. 152 years ago, Pepper first fascinated crowds with his theatrical illusion.a. He used the technique to portray a scene from a stage adaptation of Charles Dickenss Haunted Man on Christmas Eve, 1862.b. Audiences loved it, including Great Britains royal family, who requested that it be performed at their Windsor palace. c. After London, the illusion was unveiled on stages across Europe and the United States.III. The impressive nature of this theatrical tool is actually much simpler than it appears.a. A pane of glass is placed at the front of the stage at an angle, separating the stage actors and the audience. b. The spectral image is formed by a bright light being shined on an actor hidden below the stage. c. The light shining on him is reflected to the pane of glass, and the pane of glass transmits it according to the law of reflection so that the image of the actor appears behind the glass, as if it were interacting with the on-stage actors.IV. The physics principle at work behind this phenomenon is the law of reflection.a. This states that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection, as shown in the diagram. b. In the example of Peppers Ghost, the plane of incidence is the pane of glass used.c. Here, I have placed lines on the previous depiction of the illusion to show the law of reflection. The green line highlights the plane of incidence, the red lines are the incident and reflected rays, the blue line is the normal, and the yellow line is the extension of the reflected ray that indicates the location of the virtual, erect image with inverted handedness.V. Despite its origins over 150 years ago, the Peppers Ghost illusion still has many present-day applications.a. One of these is the Disney Haunted Mansion attraction, which uses this light trick to fill a ballroom with dancing specters. We will take a closer look at this specific application next.b. Also, the infamous appearance of late rapper Tupac Shakur at the 2012 Coachella Music festival was created by a highly advanced Peppers Ghost technique. Using the same basic physics of Peppers Ghost, they compiled video footage of Tupac into CGI and projected the digital image below the stage so that it would reflect onto the stage surface where Snoop Dog and Dr. Dre joined it.c. The technology used in 2012 has come a long way since 1862, when the realism of the illusion was restricted by the ghosts inability to speak.d. We have started to this holographic technology more and more frequently, but it is really just the combination of new computer technology with old theatrical techniques.VI. Here is a clip from Disneys Haunted Mansion attraction, showing the ghosts dancing around the mansions ballroom.VII. It functions in the same exact way as Peppers Ghost worked above on the stage. The Animatronic figures are placed on an all-black set, hidden below the track that the ride follows. A pane of glass stands between the rider and the visible set. When light is shone on the figures, the incident ray strikes the pane of glass and is reflected up to the location of the rider. The image is then perceived to be behind the pane of glass, down in the ballroom.VIII. Another example of Peppers Ghost used today is in another theme park attraction this time, at Universals Wizarding World of Harry Potter. a. The Kings Cross attraction allows visitors to pass through the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. b. As you can see, this illusion is created exactly like the previous one, except the object is not hidden below the viewer. Although you cannot see it in the photo, there is a well-lit brick wall where I have placed the object that reflects the brick image through the glass pane to the point where parkgoers can pass through the wall to Platform 9 and .IX. Now, I will give you a real time demonstration of Peppers Ghost on a small-scale.

Conclusion:I. Review/Restatement of Thesis: Peppers Ghost is light science phenomenon that uses the law of reflection to create a number of different illusions that are still employed today.II. Closure: Thank you for listening I hope that this presentation has prepared you for an extra spooky Halloween!