There’s more to light than meets the eye, but it’s exactly what meets the eye that intrigues us most. Welcome to the science of holography, spectral imaging, and holographic projection. If you are as interested in this topic as I am, 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 serious about innovation and had put up 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. Likewise, all the math that goes along with holographic imaging and holography is here as well. The book describes the basic setups 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 light with the beam and what happens when you adjust the bandwidth or the recording medium. There is 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 wrote a book on the subject called “Future Holographic Projection Technologies: Killer Applications,” so I know a thing or two about it. 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 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 world’s largest companies are bringing that technology to the forefront right now. 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 of this and take it seriously. If you have any comments, concerns and/or questions or case studies please email me as soon as possible.