Magic trick or science? Helicopter appears to ‘float’ towards the ground on camera

Science can explain many mysteries that we come across in our everyday lives. But seeing a helicopter ‘float’ towards the ground without any of its blades moving is not an everyday mystery. Yet science can also explain this strange phenomenon. A Twitter account posted a short video of a helicopter slowly flying overhead as it approached lower and lower. However, in the video, the blades of the helicopter did not appear to move at all. As helicopters fly using their two sets of rotors, the flight of the helicopter seems improbable. Thankfully for many other confused Twitter users, the account did post an explanation of what was being observed.

“When the rotation speed of the helicopter propeller matches the number of images per second (fps speed) of the camera,” the original post said.

When the rotation speed of the helicopter propeller matches the number of images per second (fps speed) of the camera