There’s more to light than meets the eye, but it’s exactly what meets the eye that intrigues us the most. Welcome to the science of holography, spectral imaging, and holographic projection. If this subject interests you as much as I do, I would like to recommend an extremely informative book on the subject. The title of the book is:
“Principles of Holography” by Howard W. Smith, published by Wiley-Interscience, New York, NY, 1969, 239 pages, Library of Congress Number: 69-16129, SBN: 471-08340-2.
The author of this book was a senior research assistant at the Eastman Kodak Company Research Laboratories in Rochester, New York, and their R&D department was at the forefront of this technology at the time. As you know, the Eastman Kodak company was very serious about innovation and had put in billions of dollars to maintain their market share in the past. At the time this book was written, it was probably one of the most comprehensive books on the subject of holography.
Today, of course, there is much more to know, but many of the basics are here, and this is a good book to start with if you want to learn about it. If you want to learn about the history of holography, it’s all here too. Similarly, all the mathematics that goes along with holographic imaging and holography is here as well. The book describes the basic arrangements for holography, including planar holograms and volume holograms, along with the general theory of each.
There are many mathematical equations for light projection, temporal filters, linear motion, and motion images of oscillating objects. You will learn how to beam light and what happens when you adjust the bandwidth or recording medium. There’s also a discussion of third-order aberrations, and the book even goes as far as lasers.
In fact, I’ve read quite a few books on holography, and even written a book on the subject called “Holographic Projection Technologies of the Future: Killer Apps”, so I know a thing or two about the subject. I can tell you that this is probably one of the best books ever written on the subject, and to think that it was written in 1969 completely blows my mind. Therefore, I have recommended it to anyone who is serious about research in spectral imaging or holographic technology.
Everyone should be interested in this topic because within the next five years your iPad, iPhone, smartphone or tablet will allow video conferencing via holograms. That technology will soon be here, and many of the largest companies in the world right now are bringing that technology to the fore. They are design chips that will allow this type of communication, and the equipment to execute it. In fact, I hope you will consider all this and take it seriously. If you have any comments, concerns and/or questions or case studies, please email me ASAP.