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Impossible objects

Explore impossible objects and figures: Penrose triangle, endless stairs, impossible cubes and more. Trace the geometry and discover how the drawings work. Convincing parts that cannot fit together.

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The collection

An animated red-and-green ring with striped surfaces whose apparent depth can reverse.Moving image

Ambiguous Ring

Donald E. Simanek

You should experience a sense of perceptual confusion as you note the paradoxical nature of the depicted ring.

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Impossible octagon — Eight sides make a deceptively convincing impossible loop.

Impossible octagon

Trilink at English Wikipedia

Eight sides make a deceptively convincing impossible loop.

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Impossible pentagon — Five plausible corners form an impossible pentagonal frame.

Impossible pentagon

Ibrahim Muizzuddin

Five plausible corners form an impossible pentagonal frame.

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Axonometric paradox — An axonometric structure resists a single depth interpretation.

Axonometric paradox

Nevit Dilmen

An axonometric structure resists a single depth interpretation.

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Impossible chair — A digitally altered chair gives its supports contradictory connections.

Impossible chair

TipFox

A digitally altered chair gives its supports contradictory connections.

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Impossible cube — A familiar cube frame acquires an impossible set of overlaps.

Impossible cube

M. C. Escher; modern redraw by 4C and Belbury

A familiar cube frame acquires an impossible set of overlaps.

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Impossible pentagram — A five-pointed star is drawn as an impossible interlaced solid.

Impossible pentagram

AnonMoos

A five-pointed star is drawn as an impossible interlaced solid.

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Three cylindrical prongs apparently connected to two rectangular supports.

Impossible trident

Original creator uncertain; reported by D. H. Schuster

Three prongs quietly become two supports.

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Reutersvärd’s triangle — A triangle of blocks recalls Reutersvärd’s pioneering impossible figure.

Reutersvärd’s triangle

Oscar Reutersvärd; modern drawing by László Németh

A triangle of blocks recalls Reutersvärd’s pioneering impossible figure.

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Andrus’s nuts and bolts — An arrangement of real nuts and bolts looks impossible from its chosen view.

Andrus’s nuts and bolts

Jerry Andrus; photograph by Sgerbic

An arrangement of real nuts and bolts looks impossible from its chosen view.

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Impossible hexagon — A six-sided beam loop carries impossible depth around its perimeter.

Impossible hexagon

Original uploader was Trilink at en.wikipedia

A six-sided beam loop carries impossible depth around its perimeter.

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Impossible frame — A rectangular frame joins plausible corners into a contradictory whole.

Impossible frame

Nevit Dilmen

A rectangular frame joins plausible corners into a contradictory whole.

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Frequently asked questions

What is an impossible object?

An impossible object is a drawing whose parts suggest familiar three-dimensional shapes but cannot all connect as they appear to. The contradiction becomes clearer when you trace the whole structure.

Can a Penrose triangle be built?

It cannot exist as the ordinary solid the drawing suggests. A specially arranged model can create the appearance from one viewpoint, but its actual structure differs from the pictured object.

How do the Penrose stairs work?

The drawing joins plausible stair segments into an apparent loop that continually rises or falls. In ordinary space, a closed circuit cannot gain height at every step and return to its starting level.

Enlarged image from the selected gallery entry