flicker

In visual perception, flicker is a human-visible change in luminance of an illuminated surface or light source which can be due to fluctuations of the light source itself, or due to external causes such as due to rapid fluctuations in the voltage of the power supply (power-line flicker) or incompatibility with an external dimmer. Twinkling, also called scintillation, is a generic term for variations in apparent brightness, colour, or position of a distant luminous object viewed through a medium. Flicker exists for other organisms having different perceptual thresholds. Light meters and image sensors can potentially detect flicker at much higher frequency bands than human vision. Shutter speeds used in motion photography can interact with high frequency flicker to produce visual artifacts in the captured imagery that betray flicker that would not otherwise be noted.