In this system, individual elements are displaced and magnified around the edge of a transparent sphere. Spherical Magnification is a three dimensional displacement technique that conserves valuable computational resources. The system works by defining a reactive object in continual watch of the mouse. Pressing the mouse button down creates a momentary increase in the amount of magnification (7x vs. 4x).   figure a. In this example, the spherical magnification object has been modified to include a single letter.     When the mouse comes within a specified distance of the object, the object is first pushed away, then attracted to the mouse as it draws nearer. In addition, the object is magnified by a sinusoidal relationship to the distance from the mouse. The effect is a reactive field of objects that appear to be magnified by a lens controlled by the mouse.           jtarbell, april 2003