I still remember the first time I saw a hologram. You could feel the energy change in crowd. It wasn’t a large cheer or a change in volume, but you could feel everyone holding his or her breath, wondering, hoping, for that split second that it could be real. This experience took place when I saw Michael Jackson’s ONE in Las Vegas 3 years ago. Still one of the best shows I have ever seen, Michael Jackson’s ONE by Cirque du Soleil immerses the audience into the world of Michael Jackson. Through amazing sound and lighting, ONE takes you on an adventure that you will never forgot. One of these amazing lighting techniques is the use of holograms. In the second act, Michael Jackson appears through a mist of gold dust and starts to preform his smash hit “Man in the Mirror”. Throughout his performance Michael Jackson does a variety of moves such a stomping on the stage or dropping to one knee. All of which add to the illusion and leave some people questioning whether or not it is more than just an illusion.
Hologram is a product of a holography, it is a three-dimensional image generated by the laser. Hologram is an image that reproduces three-dimensional object. Holography can be the future of visual entertainment, as until now, this method has been the most promising way to visualize three-dimensional scenes. It is simple: you just see a real object, which is actually a three-dimensional image. You can get around considering all sides. Holography is one of the greatest achievements of modern science and technology. Holograms have unique property to restore a full three-dimensional image of real objects.
Holograms are not a new technology however. In 1947, a British scientist names Dennis Gabor developed the theory of holography while working to improve the resolution of an electron microscope. Gabor came up with the word hologram from the Greek words holos, meaning "whole," and gramma, meaning "message". After Gabor published his findings on holograms, many scientists started experimenting on their own with them. In these early years, the mercury arc lamp was the most used light source available for making holograms. Because of the low coherency of this light, it was not possible to produce holograms of any depth, thus limiting research. This all changed in 1960 however when the laser was invented. The laser’s light, which was pure, high intense light, was perfect for making and sustaining a hologram. In 1962 Emmit Leith and Juris Upatnieks created the first laser 3-D object. After reading Gabor’s research on holograms, they decided to start their own research. Their final product was the first ever 3-D laser hologram, a toy train and bird. In 1971 Dr. Dennis Gabor was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of holography in 1947.
The technology to create a hologram is relatively simple. First, you need a laser and an object you wish to turn into a hologram. Like taking a photograph, creating a hologram is done by bouncing light off an object onto a photographic plate. However when creating a hologram, one needs to be able to capture depth unlike in a photo. This is done by splitting the laser into two. The first part is still bounced off an object onto a plate but the second laser is used to capture depth. It is called the reference beam. The beam captures the depth one seeing in a hologram and encodes it on the photographic plate with the rest of the image. Once this is complete, all you have to do it take the original laser and shine it on the plate. This actually reverses the process and creates the image in a 3D state. In the past year, researcher have been able to create 3D touchable holograms. These researchers from Aerial Burton in Japan, have found a way to speed up their lasers so that holograms are safe to touch by using femtosecond 1Kh infrared pulsing lasers, which fire every millisecond. "Shock waves are generated by plasma when a user touches the plasma voxels. The user feels an impulse on the finger as if the light has physical substance,". (Yoichi Ochiai ) This is done in two steps. First, the infrared pulsing laser is fired at a spatial light modulator. This spatial light modulator divides the laser in small focal points. Then the focal points are put through a 3D scanner that shots the hologram into the air. This technology has not yet been incorporated into live entertainment but the applications are limitless.
Holography is a photographic process in a broad sense, but it is fundamentally different from conventional photography because the photosensitive material is registered with not only the intensity but also with the phase of the light wave scattered by the object and it is providing the full information about its three dimensional structure. As an information display format, hologram has unique property: unlike the pictures, creating a flat image, the holographic image can reproduce an exact copy of the original three-dimensional object. This image is multi-angled, that is changing with the change of viewpoint, it has an amazing realism and holograms are often indistinguishable from the real object (Jeong “Basic Principles and Applications of Holography”).
Modern holograms are observed while covering conventional light sources, and full surround in combination with high-precision transmission of surface texture provides an immersive presence effect.
Holograms are indispensable in the manufacturing of high-quality reproductions of works of sculpture, museum exhibits, etc. At the same time, the ability to create three-dimensional images opens up new directions in art: representational holography and optical design. Holograms are widely used advertising as decorations (Tilley “Colour and the Optical Properties of Materials: An Exploration of the Relationship between Light, the Optical Properties of Materials and Colour.”).
Holography began to flourish, and acquired great practical importance since the result of fundamental research in quantum electronics, performed by Soviet physicists - Basov and Prokhorov - and the American scientist Charles Townes. Emmett Leith and Juris Upatniek of Michigan Institute of Technology (USA) launched the graphic holography. They received the first volume transmission hologram in 1962, reduced in a laser light. The recording geometry, suggested by these scientists, is now used worldwide in holographic laboratories.
The works of Yuri Denisyuk, that were made in 60-70s, were crucial for the development of graphic holography. He first received a reflective hologram that allowed reproducing three-dimensional images in ordinary white light. Virtually all-modern holography art is based on the methods proposed by Denisyuk.
In 1969, Steven Benton from Polaroid Research Laboratories produced a transmission hologram, visible in ordinary white light. Holograms, invented by Benton, were named rose-colored as they shimmer with rainbow colors that make up white light. Benton’s discovery made possible to start mass production of inexpensive hologram by "punching" interference patterns on the plastic. Holograms of this type is now used for protection against counterfeiting of documents, bankcards, etc. Thanks to Benton, holography became popular.
In 1977, Lloyd Cross received multiplex hologram consisting of a variety of conventional photos taken from the set of points lying in a horizontal plane. When you move a hologram in the field of view, you can see all the captured frames.
Holograms are used in science, technology and art. You can see the hologram on the packaging of some products and the covers of magazines. Holograms are placed on credit cards, identity cards, and even on clothing to protect against counterfeiting. Computer-generated holograms allow engineers and designers to watch their creations in three dimensions. Holography is also used for quality control at the factories during production. This process is called holographic nondestructive testing. Holograms are used in some aircraft, civil and military aviation. These holograms allow the pilot to assess critical information when he looks in the window of the cab. Artists use holography for artistic expression. Many artists feel that three-dimensional space and pure light, which holography offers, allow them to transmit images that were impossible with conventional display means (Ackermann 24).
Nowadays holography continues to grow, and there are interesting new solutions every year in this area. There is no doubt that in the future graphic holography will take even more significant place in people's lives.
Works Cited
Ackermann, Gerhard K., and Jurgen Eichler. Holography: A Practical Approach. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH, 2007. Print.
Jeong, Tung H. "Basic Principles and Applications of Holography." SPIE Optics. Lake Forest College. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.
Tilley, R. J. D. Colour and the Optical Properties of Materials: An Exploration of the Relationship between Light, the Optical Properties of Materials and Colour. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2011. Print.
