The plastic notes handle well. There isn't any significant difference between them and paper notes in this regard.
I think the clear window was actually a hologram on the first notes introduced (I may be wrong on this), but they had problems with it rubbing off too easily (and thus becoming a clear window). Now each denomination has a different shape and overlayed pattern in the clear window. On the $50 the pattern is the Southern Cross, on the $20 it is a compass, etc.
Size-wise the denominations are different but not hugely so. They are all the same height, with the length varying from ~13cm for the $5 to ~15cm for the $50 (sorry, I don't have a $100 handy to check it's length). This small variation doesn't make any practical difference in your wallet, but does make a bleaching attack harder - your bleached $5 simply isn't big enough to become a $50. Of course, the note being plastic probably also makes the bleaching attack near impossible anyway.
The URL you have provided is for a page published
by a student undertaking a first-year physics course.
Whilst it may (or may not) contain some good content,
I doubt the student is part of the research team, and
the page should not be treated as authoritative.
Slashdot Mirror
The plastic notes handle well. There isn't any significant difference between them and paper notes in this regard.
I think the clear window was actually a hologram on the first notes introduced (I may be wrong on this), but they had problems with it rubbing off too easily (and thus becoming a clear window). Now each denomination has a different shape and overlayed pattern in the clear window. On the $50 the pattern is the Southern Cross, on the $20 it is a compass, etc.
Size-wise the denominations are different but not hugely so. They are all the same height, with the length varying from ~13cm for the $5 to ~15cm for the $50 (sorry, I don't have a $100 handy to check it's length). This small variation doesn't make any practical difference in your wallet, but does make a bleaching attack harder - your bleached $5 simply isn't big enough to become a $50. Of course, the note being plastic probably also makes the bleaching attack near impossible anyway.
The URL you have provided is for a page published by a student undertaking a first-year physics course. Whilst it may (or may not) contain some good content, I doubt the student is part of the research team, and the page should not be treated as authoritative.
The page at http://photonics.anu.edu.au/qoptics/ is somewhat more official.