Pulfrich effect

noun

The psychophysical percept whereby lateral motion of an object in the field of view is interpreted by the visual cortex as having a depth component, due to a relative difference in signal timings between the two eyes.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounPulfrich effect (plural Pulfrich effects)

plural Pulfrich effects

  1. The psychophysical percept whereby lateral motion of an object in the field of view is interpreted by the visual cortex as having a depth component, due to a relative difference in signal timings between the two eyes.

Origin

Named after German physicist Carl Pulfrich, who first described it in 1922.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Pulfrich effect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pulfrich%20effect

MLA

“Pulfrich effect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pulfrich%20effect. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Pulfrich effect,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pulfrich%20effect.

Source: Pulfrich effect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.