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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

Impossible waterfall — A channel seems to return water to its own starting height.

Impossible waterfall

Pbroks13

A channel seems to return water to its own starting height.

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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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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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The impossible cuboid — A public sculpture appears to form an impossible cuboid.

The impossible cuboid

J. Verhoeff, D. Baas Becking, and P. Bakker; photograph by Wikifrits

A public sculpture appears to form an impossible cuboid.

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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 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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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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Impossible Valknut — Three interwoven triangles hide several impossible connections.

Impossible Valknut

AnonMoos

Three interwoven triangles hide several impossible connections.

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A rectangular loop of steps that appears to ascend continuously.

Penrose stairs

Oscar Reutersvärd; independently Lionel & Roger Penrose

A staircase that climbs forever and gets nowhere.

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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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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 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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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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Impossible wooden cube — A real wooden construction looks like an impossible cube from one view.

Impossible wooden cube

Wmccallie

A real wooden construction looks like an impossible cube from one view.

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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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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