By Zach Radding - http://www.buildcoolstuff.com

Holography has been around for years (since 1947). Up until just a few years ago, holography was something only done in scientific laboratories with many dollars worth of expensive equipment. This all changed when a few hobbyists started to play with inexpensive laser pointers. The first laser pointers could not be used to make holograms because the beam intensity was unstable. However, in the past few years laser pointers have become much more stable (after a few minutes of warming up).

I'll be the first to say that I am not an expert on making holograms. Many of the techniques I use are not my inventions. They were gathered from other hobbyists who, like me, spent many hours making lots of mistakes. These instructions are one of many that you can find with a little research. However, I have tried to put together the most simple, complete, and accurate instructions for successfully creating a hologram with minimal expense. See the end of the document for other sources of information.

This page is for informational purposes only. ZCS, EBBG and Zach Radding are not responsible for any mistakes or damage caused by these instructions. Always read and follow the manufacturers instructions.

Hologram Shopping List

Chemicals

• JD-2 Chemical Processing Kit
  http://www.photoformulary.com/
• Photo-Flo (optional)
  Local darkroom supply shop

Film

The film is a clear piece of glass.

• PFG-01 Plates 2.5" x 2.5"
  http://www.laserreflections.com/film.html

Laser pointer

• Infiniter 200 Laser pointer

http://www.thelaserguy.com/keylaspoin.html

Lens

• Concave coated lens from Edmund Optics
  12mm Diam. Part #45015
  http://www.edmundoptics.com/

Supermarket items

• 1 Gallon of distilled water
• Four empty 1-liter bottles
  (1 liter water bottles work great)
• Three disposable plastic trays
• Two plastic cups
• Bag of sugar
• Play-Doh preferably black
• Rubber gloves

Making the Shutter

• One piece of cardboard with slits cut in the sides. This forms tabs which are bent to let the cardboard stand up on it's own.

Hardware and/or
electronics store

• Can-o-air
• Two clothespins
• Small digital countdown timer

(it must be able to count seconds)

• Three AA batteries
• Two alligator clips
• A three 'AA' cell battery holder
• Small piece of 1/8" thick wood

The Setup

Remove the battery cap from the laser pointer.
(and batteries if they are installed)

Look inside and you will see a spring.

Attach the ground wire (yellow) to this spring (wire color does not matter, just as long as you keep track of which wire is ground and which is power)

Attach the power wire (red) to the outside case of the laser pointer.

Attention: Make sure this alligator clip does not touch the metal on the ground alligator clip.

Fill two plastic cups with sugar.

Place a clothespin on the laser pointer so that the button is pressed. Push the clothespin into the sugar as shown.

Place the lens in the other clothespin and push it into the sugar as shown.

Install the batteries in the battery holder. Connect the alligator clips to the battery holder. Make sure you have the polarity correct. ('+' side to the power wire, '-' side to the ground wire)

If everything is correct the laser pointer should light up.

Find a place to set up the exposure. Here are some things to consider when choosing a location for making holograms:

• Area needs to be almost completely dark
• Needs to be on a sturdy table.
• Can't be close to sources of movement or vibration
  (i.e. heater vents, refrigerator...)
• Needs to be close to a sink

Things to consider when choosing an object for your hologram:

• The object should be a solid material like plastic or metal
• Don't use soft or thin materials (they have a tendency to move during exposure)
• The object should be smaller than your film (2.5"x2.5")
• Avoid dark objects. Choose something metallic or with bright colors
• Small plastic toys, shells, figurines, and statues all make good holograms.

Set up your object so that it's at the same height as your laser. A phone book works well for this purpose. If your object is small and/or an odd shape use the Play-Doh to affix it to a block of wood or metal.

Place the 1/8" piece of wood about one inch front of the object. This will give you an edge to rest your film against. You might want to tape this wood in place if it slides easily.

Note: I usually orient the object upside-down during the exposure. When the finish hologram is viewed with a overhead light source, the object will appear right side up.

You will want the distance between the lens and the object to be about 30 inches.

Next we need to align the laser.

The goal is to illuminate the object evenly. You will notice that the beam is not perfectly round. In fact it is almost square. It may help to put a small piece of white paper in front of the object to see the beam clearly.

Place your shutter in between the laser and the object.

Before you make your exposure let the laser "warm" up a little. When these pointers are first powered on, their brightness fluctuates for a few minutes. You may not be able to see it, but that fluctuation will ruin a hologram. To be on the safe side let the pointer warm up for about ten minutes.

Mixing the Chemicals

Follow the directions that come with the JD-2 kit.

Note- The chemicals in the kit are very toxic. Please follow all warnings and precautions when working with them.

The chart they provide is a little confusing. Here is what I recommend. Heat the distilled water in a separate container in the microwave. It only needs to be warm (not boiling). Carefully pour the water into two of the 1 liter containers. Fill them about 3/4 full. Now add the chemicals one by one as shown on the chart. It may help to use a funnel. Swirl each container around until the chemicals are dissolved. Finally, fill each bottle the rest of the way with distilled water.

You now have two separate parts of the developer ('A' and 'B'). Keep these solutions separate until you want to develop the holograms. Once mixed, they only last about 8 hours. So, mix only what you are going to use.

Next mix up the bleach. This time the water can be room temperature.

If you are using Photo-Flo, mix the solution as directed on the bottle.

Making the exposure

Prepare your chemicals. It's best to do this next to a sink.

1. Mix equal parts of Solution A and B in one of the disposable trays. About 1/2 inch of solution in the tray is sufficient.

2. Pour about the same amount of the bleach solution into a second tray.

3. Pour some Photo-Flo solution into the third tray.

You will want to make sure you memorize the next steps, because it's going to be dark and you shouldn't be able to read these instructions. You will also want to practice using your timer in the dark.

Now you're ready to turn the lights out. You want it to be dark enough so you can't read but a little indirect light will help you see.

Go to the darkest part of the room and open up your box of film. You will need to determine which side of the film has the emulsion on it. If you wet your finger slightly and touch the corner of the plate, one side will be sticky the other will be smooth. The sticky side is the emulsion.

Place the plate in front of the object with the emulsion side facing the object. You want the plate to touch the object. That way if there are any small vibrations the plate and the object move together.

Hold the timer in your hand and set it for 20 seconds. Lift the shutter off the table just a few inches. Don't let any light hit the object. Start your timer and wait like this for the 20 seconds. This gives the table a chance to settle.

Now set the timer for 6 seconds. Without touching the table, lift the shutter and start the timer. I always hold my breath at this point. Once the timer goes off, put the shutter back on the table. To play it safe, shut off the laser just in case you knock over the shutter.

Developing the hologram

Set the timer for 2 minutes. Put on rubber gloves. Place the plate in the A-B developer solution, emulsion side up and start the timer. Tip the tray back and forth to agitate the solution. If your exposure time was correct, you should see the plate turning dark over about 15 seconds. If it turns black instantly, then chances are your plate got over exposed (or was exposed to some outside light)

After two minutes, take the plate out of the A-B developer. The plate should be very dark (almost black). Run the plate under running water for three minutes. This stops the development process.

Next place the plate in the bleach solution. Agitate the tray. The plate should turn clear in less than a minute.

Remove the plate and rinse under running water for two minutes.

(Optional) Place the plate into the Photo-Flo solution for three minutes. This process reduces the water spots that can form on the plate while drying.

Let the plate dry or use a hairdryer to speed up the process.

Your hologram is developed and can be viewed at this point. View the hologram with the emulsion side away from you, using a single source of light. A small flashlight or the sun works well. Fluorescent or frosted lights make the hologram blurry or invisible.

If you would like to make your hologram brighter, lay the plate on some newspaper and paint the emulsion side of the plate with flat black spray paint.

Trouble shooting:
If you don't see an image here are some possible reasons:

• The plate was over or under exposed
• The emulsion side of the plate was not facing the object
• Something moved during exposure

If you see black lines on the holographic object the object or film moved during exposure.

The finished hologram

Holograms are only 3-dimensional when viewed directly.

Additional Hologram resources
http://www.holoworld.com/
http://members.aol.com/integraf/
http://www.3dimagery.com