I was at an engagement this weekend when one of the guests, someone I hadn’t seen in a while, prompted me to talk about holography. I was seventeen the last time I stepped into a holographic darkroom and I was taken aback. A lot has changed since then but not the core technology.
Holography, in its simplest form, is a three dimensional image made with multiple laser beams. Typically, one of the beams of light is illuminated directly on the subject and the other is reflected towards a film substrate. After a few seconds to a few minutes of exposing the image followed by a chemical development process a three dimensional image of the subject should appear.
Years ago when I was heavily involved in the science, holograms were just starting to immerge as both an art and science. Researchers were tinkering with ideas how to implement holograms into our daily lives and artists were making remarkable images of everyday objects. Today, holograms can be found in our back pockets and purses on every Visa and MasterCard. Many of the products we use and purchase wouldn’t have been possible without holography in one way or another.
Holographic based technology doesn’t just turn up in artsy images. Tire manufacturers use the same technology to study the stress points on sidewalls. I worked with a company that used the technology to study the characteristics of semiconductors prior to production. Holographic Versatile Discs may be the next wave of video discs because they hold significantly more data than BluRay. Uses of holography span science, technology, and art.
The science of holography is what makes it uniquely possible. Unlike white light used for standard photography, laser light is strictly one color and one frequency. Those who make holograms match the film to the specific type of laser they’re using. The film manufacturer I used sold a very specific film for the style of hologram I used to create.
Due to the limitations of working with single frequency light and trying to align (for lack of a better term) the light for a length of time, the work surface had to stay extremely stable. Companies are now manufacturing tables specifically designed for holography. Even a car driving a block away can create enough vibration to ruin a holographic exposure.
When I was heavily involved, the idea of creating images with a laser was borderline science fiction. Components I needed were considered exotic and had to be modified from stuff from around the house. My table was essentially a one-ton sandbox on motorcycle inner tubes. Most of my optics were modified hand-me-downs from local businesses. The laser I used was on loan from a local school.
Today, holography is within easy grasp of anyone willing to shell out $200.00 and make a darkroom in their cellar. In preparation for this article I found a kit online that sells for $180.00 including everything needed to make holograms. I read that most hobbyists are using laser pointers as their light source. No longer is a ton of sand needed either; one of the YouTube videos I watched showed a young man using a kitty litter box with a small amount of sand.
I spent many years of my young life travelling and researching for the love of holography. At one of my many science fair competitions, an engineer from the Air Force charged my table, picked up one of my examples and mumbled, “we have a $1.5 billion dollar budget and can’t do this.” With changes in laser technology and information from the internet anyone today can create holographic images that mimic the field’s greats. Holography can never be displaced by purely digital technology.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can call him directly at (978) 919-8059) or visit www.LocalComputerWiz.com.