Moire Patterns
A moire pattern is an "interference pattern" created by overlapping grids, lines, and so on as shown in this animation:
images/moire.js
How Does It Work?
We get a large-scale pattern when two small-scale repeating patterns are almost, but not quite, aligned.
The surprising part is that small differences can create large patterns
If two grids have almost the same spacing, their difference is very small. That small difference produces a pattern with a much larger spacing.
Example:
- Grid A: lines every 1.00 mm
- Grid B: lines every 1.01 mm
The difference in spacing is just 0.01 mm.
It takes 100 lines for the two grids to drift completely out of step and back into alignment again (1.00 ÷ 0.01 = 100).
Pattern Width: 100 × 1.01 mm = 101 mm (about 10 cm or 4 inches wide!)
It is essentially a "difference pattern" made visible.