The Holographic Universe

A hologram is a photograph that allows a person to view at an object at different angles as if it were a real object. Unlike a normal photograph which use regular white light (polychromatic), holograms use monochromatic light (only one hue of the visible spectrum). To see the hologram you have to use the same hue of light that created the hologram in the first place. Holograms have an interesting property. If you break them, their individual pieces display the whole object, although a little less clearer. Holograms are appearing almost everywhere.

Researchers are trying to create what is called holographic memory. This is a hologram imprinted on a CD or DVD for storage. The hologram by its nature can contain much more memory than a normal CD or DVD. Holographic memory offers the possibility of storing 1 terabyte (TB) of data in a sugar-cube-sized crystal.

Then there is holophony--ie holographic sound. I first read about holophony in Michael Talbot's 1992 book The Holographic Universe. Holophony allows the listener to hear sounds in 3-D. Let's say you hear a robin chirp above you in a tree. If that sound is recorded on a holophonic device and played back to you, you will actually hear that robin chirp in exactly that position where you first actually heard it. To give you an idea what I'm talking about listen to this sound sample. It is only 1.9 MB to download and you need to hear the sample in headphones to hear the holophonic effect. Pay attention to the "shaker" sound on the left. It sounds like it is actually moving downward. It's an amazing effect. I think holophony is the next stage of sound recording.

Stephen Wagnor's hypothesis about EVPs on the paranormal.about.com web site is what got me thinking about holograms in general. He thinks EVPs are holographic mental or personality imprints of people who once lived. Since the imprint might contain all the information of a person's personality it might respond to questions. He might be onto something. In the world of parapsychology, there is a phenomena known as a "residue haunting." Residue haunting is the belief that horrible events somehow imprint upon their surroundings. These imprints are not necessarily holographic but they do reoccur and there is no interaction with these type of hauntings. Certain "sensitive" people are able to replay these events.

In theory, any light wavelength (ultraviolet, infrared, etc.) can make its own hologram. Actually, any energy with wave-like properties can make hologram.

As a final thought on this subject, could the whole universe be one big hologram? That's something to think about.