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Making Holograms In The Kitchen

Posted by timothy on from the you-can-make-anything-in-the-kitchen dept.

Paul writes "Over at www.litiholo.com is a newly launched hologram kit that lets you make your own holograms at home. No, it's not Princess Leia asking you for help, but it's still pretty cool making a hologram on your kitchen table. Particularly interesting is the instant hologram film that makes holograms with no developing (kind of a Polaroid film for holograms). The hologram kit costs $99, including the laser, film, and everything else."

6 of 186 comments (clear)

  1. not viewable in ambient light by drfireman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    According to the web site, you need to use either the laser or a special flashlight to view the hologram. That would seem to limit the usefulness of the process.

    1. Re:not viewable in ambient light by rusty0101 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I could be wrong, but my experience with a lot of hologram store holograms is that they work best when they are lit by a point type light source. My suspicion is that the result of this procedure is one of that type of hologram, and any 'single point' light source (a flashlight would qualify, but a light bouncing off the celing, florescent tube, or a multi-bulb lamp would not) would work well.

      As I say, I could be wrong.

      -Rusty

      --
      You never know...
  2. How hard can that be? by Nom+du+Keyboard · · Score: 4, Insightful

    A sheet of film and a laser pointer, and before you know it you too can be counterfeiting Microsoft and Master Card logos.

    --
    "It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
  3. Nothing new by Jason1729 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Popular Electronics had a great article on making your own holograms in 1992, and it was nothing new then exept that lasers were getting cheap enough to be practical.

    There's even lots of websites now on using a laser pointer to do it, but that doesn't seem to work as well.

    The most difficuilt part of the process is getting the table to be vibration free enough since a montion of less than a wavelength (~0.6 microns) will spoil the hologram.

    Jason
    ProfQuotes

  4. Re:how about colors? by psyconaut · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Neither. The hologram is a function of refracted visible light caused by interference patterns.

    So, there are a number of factors that determine the hue of the image...and you get that "oil on water" type rainbow effect.

    You *can* make full colour holograms, but the process is complex and requires three lasers (R+G+B) and colour holographic film. Also remember that movement of even just a few microns in the illuminated subject disrupts the interference patter enough to cause foggy exposures ruining your holograph -- so doing it with three laser sources is even more prone to errors.

    (Real holography used to be a hobby of mine).

    -psy

  5. One little catch by active8or · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If you look at the bottom of the page, there is a small notice saying:

    Litiholo film makes transmission holograms, viewable with laser or LED light included in kit.

    Kind of spoils the fun, I think. Small type usually does.

    Love,
    . K