Joseph Antoine Ferdinand Plateau: why a Google Doodle marks the Belgian physicist's 218th birthday

Here's everything you need to know about the physicist and how he paved the way for cinema.

Child prodigy

Born in 1801, Plateau began emerging as a child prodigy at the age of six as he demonstrated his ability to read during a time of widespread illiteracy.

During his school years he developed a passion for physics, and became determined to uncover the secrets of experiments conducted.

In his 20s Plateau studied at the University of Liege, Belgium, graduating as a doctor of physical and mathematical sciences.

Paving the way for cinema

During his studies, Plateau became increasingly interested in optics - a branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light.

This led him to co-create the phenakistiscope - a device which gave the illusion of a moving image - with Austrian geometrist Simon Stampfer.

It consisted of two discs - one featuring a sequence of images and another with a series of windows - which when rotated at the correct speed, gave off the impression of an animated image.

Blinded by the sun

Curiously, one of Plateau's experiments potentially led to him losing his eyesight.

The physicist stared into the sun for 25 seconds while conducting an experiment into the persistence of luminous impressions on the retina.