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Pepper's Ghost

The crown Prince of Wales’s ghost made a guest appearance at the International Energy summit in Abu Dhabi. Prince Charles managed to save 15 tons of carbon dioxide and an uncomfortable plane trip by making use of the technology that powers amusement park rides like the Haunted Mansion at Disney.


Pepper’s Ghost

Pepper's Ghost

Pepper's Ghost

The technique is called Pepper’s Ghost. This imaginative use of mirrors, science and a recording studio allows you to project a pre-recorded hologram of yourself into a room of your choosing.

According to Wikipedia,

“In order for the illusion to work, the viewer must be able to see into the main room, but not into the hidden mirror room. The edge of the glass may be hidden by a cleverly designed pattern in the floor. Both rooms may be identical mirror-images; this approach is useful in making objects seem to appear or disappear. This effect can also be used to make an actor reflected in the mirror appear to turn into an actor behind the mirror (or vice versa). This is the principle behind the Girl-to-Gorilla trick found in many haunted houses.”

Prince Charles is not the first celebrity to use this gem of 19th century technology as his own virtual holodeck. Earlier this year David Beckham used the same technique to speak to an audience from London and Al Gore made a similar virtual journey to speak at Live Earth.


Prince Charles

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