Penrose stairs

English

WOTD – 2 May 2013, 2 May 2014, 2 May 2015

Penrose stairs.

Etymology

After a drawing by Lionel Penrose and Roger Penrose.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Southern England):

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Noun

Penrose stairs pl (plural only)

1. An impossible loop of endlessly ascending and descending stairs, or an optical illusion appearing to depict such a loop.
   • For quotations using this term, see Citations:Penrose stairs.

Synonyms

• impossible staircase
• Penrose staircase
• Penrose steps

Translations

endless staircase

• Finnish: Penrosen portaat
• German: unmögliche Treppe f
• Japanese: ペンローズ階段 (ぺんろうぞかいだん, Penrōzu kaidan)
• Swedish: Penroses trappa c

Further reading

• Penrose stairs on Wikipedia.Wikipedia