It is tough to digest that 3-dimensional pictures have existed on 2-dimensional surfaces, in some form or the other, since 1890,  but still 2D has always been mainstream, while 3D has trotted in the service lanes. That might all be on the verge of a mighty change, with the Nintendo 3DS which features a wonder-screen that displays 3D you can view, without the need of any funny glasses or headache-inducing viewing techniques. Read on to learn how the Nintendo 3DS screen works and how it will change the world of 3D viewing, for the better, forever.

The first and the most basic question is, of course, what is 3D?

3D is what we see in the real world. The real world 3D differs from the 3D of, say, a modern first person shooter such as Crysis by the essential element of depth. To realize the importance and beauty of depth, perform this little exercise: Hold a pen in front of your eyes and try to put its cap on. Easy? Of course. Now try doing it with one eye closed. Having a tough time? The perception of depth, the real distinguishing factor of 3D is because of your two eyes. More accurately, it is caused because the separation between our two eyes causes both of them to see slightly different images, which are then processed by our brain to give us a measurable perception of depth.

Now, that is the only condition of obtaining a 3D/stereoscopic image - show both eyes a slightly different, shifted image. This definitely isn't easy, since whatever is seen by the left eye, is also generally visible to the right, like in case of your normal TV or monitor. Now, down the years, this has been done using different techniques. The most primitive technique included two separate images which had to be seen either using parallel vision (looking straight, each eye seeing what is in front of it) or cross-eyed vision (similar to parallel viewing, but left eye sees right image, right sees left). But the general tendency of eyes is to converge and focus on the same point. So these methods were impractical, and often people find it impossible to see the 3D effect. Try looking cross-eyed for a minute and feel the headache as your eyes come back to their usual position, if they do.

No doubt this method never gained any steam at all, but there was another technology that soon improved upon this to deliver an easy-to-see 3D experience... Up next

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