Term of the Moment
Adobe Reader
Definition: stereoscope
A handheld viewer that provides the illusion of a 3D image by using two 2D images (stereo images). Dating back to the 1890s and only for still images, stereoscopes were the first attempts at going beyond 2D. For more details about 3D, see 3D visualization, anaglyph 3D, polarized 3D, active 3D, lenticular 3D, parallax 3D and 3D glasses.
3D Viewers
In the first half of the 20th century, the stereoscope (top) used two lenses at slight angles to view 3D still images. In the 1940s and 1950s, the popular View-Master used a rotating paper disc with film frames, like 35mm slides, but smaller.