Simon's Holography Senior Project

[nomiss]

Im thinking of just buying this kit: http://i-fiberoptics.com/laser-kits-pro ... hp?id=2130 to build my interferometer because it looks easy and relatively cheap. Time is running out for me so simplicity is of importance.

[holomaker]

There's really no need to get that set, you have nearly everything there to make a Michaelson Interferometer. You need the thick regular glass to act as a beam splitter and expand the interfrometer beam using a couple lens, you will need a large stone type tile and solid blocks (steel,wood, plastic, heavy is better),and some plasticine clay to hold every thing down, the clay will need a settle time but you can get some solid fringes, set the whole tile on bubble wrap neatly...... now for the 315's out put, Simon its time to put the dongel's ability to turn down the out put to a least a 1/3 (30mw) or less.The glass will give you like 90/10 outputs but you still be able to see the fringes (w/ lower contrast) and you'll still be able to get the point across. The laser is mounted off tile but on same possible table. Keep it simple ................

[BobH]

Build the interferometer as a fail safe demo, in case the hologram doesn't work out in time. Good luck.

[nomiss]

A lot has happened in the past week, mostly bad, but ill start off with the good. The deadline for my project got pushed back from May 11th to the 21st! While adjusting my concave mirror, I accidentally hit the arm of the clamp that was holding it in place. My mirror fell and this is what i ended up with.

I changed my mirror holding setup to this.

I overnighted a 25x25mm mirror from EdmundOptics, which worked great for about one day until that mirror proceeded to break also. I have learned that I must epoxy everything from now on ( due to the huge amount of vibration caused my cars driving overhead. my lab is in a parking garage.) Its pretty much a bolt and a fish eye that causes outward pressure to hold itself in place between the concrete beams. I flied a small vice to it for holding the mirror. On each (pincer?) of the clamp i glued some foam packaging rap so the source from the clamp would not be directly applied to the mirror. The reason why I moved the mirror holder farther up is because I wanted to achieve an angle closer to 45 degrees. This week I also finished my stand for the 8x10 holograms. Its made out of an 18x18 stone slab, which I spray painted white. I have also fixed an 18 inch train track to the stand so that there would be a reference for each hologram.

The hight of the holo-plate to the base is 3.5 inches, which i have found to create more than enough depth. I am using two clamps to clamp the stand to the table in order to create greater stability. One day, I had a bunch of free time so I built this.

Its a dryer for my holograms. I built it out of a carbon filter we had in our basement and a 35 gallon tub. The room that I use is quite dusty, so i didn't want any dust to get on my holograms while drying. The metal tube that runs along the outside of the tub circulates air and purifies it. The air is sucked in through the left side and then is purified and expelled back into the container on the right. Also, the air purification system speeds up the drying process. To also minimize dust in the room, I mopped the whole place. It had dent been cleaned in two years, so a mopping was much needed. I experimented with 6 of my VPR-M plates, but this is the best I got.

they were very dim and weren't noticeable. I have ruled out vibration as a cause because after my sixth one I threw an Ultimate plate on there and it came out perfectly. For my sixth attempt at the VRP-M plates, I made sure the table and objects had settled for 24 hours. I also allowed the plate to sit on the stand for 40 min so it could settle and equalize with the room temperature. As for developing, I have been following the directions to a T. I used purified water and made sure all of the chemical ratios were correct. I am stumped so far as to what is causing the problem. I have decided just to order more Ultimate plates since I'm accustomed to them, even though they cost double. They should drive from France on May 7th so I should have enough time to get the 10 done and then some.

[nomiss]

Part 2 since I can only upload 5 pics per post... This week I also built a black box to surround the laser. Before, some light was illuminating the room from the laser when I had my shudder down. I have stopped this by building a box around it and by using a foam shudder.

Today I went to Home Depot and started construction on the stand that will hold all of my 10 holograms. It is made up of two 60x40 inch sections. Each section will have five holograms on each other and will be placed next to each other to make it look seamless. I am using 1/4 inch plywood as a backing because of its structural integrity. On top of that I am placing foam board, which I will be cutting 8x10 holes out of to place the holograms into. On top of that I am using matt sheets to make everything look flush and to hide the edges of the holograms. As for lights, I bought these in black.

I have this white one for testing purposes only. At this distance, the spotlights are to big, so I am looking into using T11 halogen lightbulbs instead. They are smaller so in theory they should make smaller spotlights. If those aren't sufficient, I will build cones to go around each light fixture so that the spotlight has the correct diameter.

[Johnfp]

Friend, is this a High School Senior Project or College Senior Project. This is quite an elaborate undertaking. If it is for high school, you should get three credits toward college for this alone.

[nomiss]

John, I am currently a senior in high school. During the third trimester, Seniors are allowed to take on a senior project in exchange for dropping two classes. Currently, I am only take Calculus, Environmental Science, and Spanish. My other free time is spent working on my project. I agree that this project is a bit more than I bargained for. Along with my final project, I must keep a blog, Write a weekly paper pertaining to holography, write an artist statement, and finally an eight page paper on my journey. At this point I had planned to be making H1 and H2 holograms, but due to the complexity of my project, I haven't even finished my Denisyuk holograms. Some examples of other projects are, Writing a 25 page research paper (majority of people), painting a set of three paintings, making skis, making a documentary on skiing, putting on a play, ect.

[Johnfp]

What country are you in if you don't mind?

[nomiss]

Vail, Colorado

[nomiss]

Here is my first test hologram for the train series. Im starting production of the other today. Should be down by the end of the week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpFTOTYd ... e=youtu.be