Template:POTD/2014-07-02

Picture of the day

A diagram of a mechanical mouse, showing how these pointing devices operate.

1. Friction with the surface below the mouse turns the ball as the mouse is slid along.
2. X and Y rollers grip the ball and transfer movement.
3. The rollers turn optical encoding disks.
4. Infrared LEDs shine through holes in the disks.
5. Sensors count the light pulses to derive X and Y velocities. The computer interprets these readings and moves the mouse cursor correspondingly on the screen.

Diagram: Jeremykemp and Pbroks13