[net.rec.photo] Reflection Holograms

mikel@bmcg.UUCP (Mike Lesher) (12/02/85)

A reflection is produced by a argon or helium-neon laser beam traveling through
a lens to spread it out into illuminating light.  The light passes through a low
speed/high density film and strikes the subject.  Some light is reflected by
the subject back toward the film.  The interference pattern generated by the
light from both directions is recorded in the film.  The film is then developed
and bleached and when the laser, or another light source, is placed in the same
position, the film recreates the interference pattern that would have been
there as if the subject was still present.  All holograms work on interference
between two sources of light, one from a reference, and one from the
reflections of the subject.  

I have created standard holograms before but have not tried a reflection
hologram because I didn't have the equipment to bleach the film.  The equipment
I used was from Edmund Scientific, a mail order catalog company.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words,  here is a diagram of making and
viewing a reflection hologram.


	    Creation			Viewing

	     laser		     
	       |		
	       |	
	     lens		  Eye  Light  Eye
	     /  \		     \  / \  /
	    /    \	 	      \/   \/
	   /      \		      /     \
Film	  ----------		     ---------
	 /          \		    /         \
	/   subject  \		   /  Subject  \
				    (Recreated)


Mike Lesher
Burroughs DSG, San Diego, CA.
(..!bmcg!mikel)