Holographic technology can produce three-dimensional images that can be seen without special eyewear and without causing visual fatigue, but the images are usually static.
Takeo Sasaki and his colleagues at Tokyo University of Science used liquid crystals made from organic compounds to produce a dynamic hologram. An electrical field applied to the liquid-crystal mixture alters how this medium bends, or refracts, the direction of incoming light. The researchers sent coupled laser beams through the crystal mixture to generate a holographic image.
Although small and monochromatic, the hologram exhibited more than seven times the light amplification of previous attempts, and refreshed every 8 milliseconds — fast enough to produce a smooth holographic movie. Such a technique could be used for three-dimensional displays.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liquid crystal movies. Nature 494, 405 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/494405c
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/494405c
