Holographic Imaging, co-authored by Stephen Benton, and published in 2008, five years after Benton's death.
Holographic Imaging, co-authored by Stephen Benton, and published in 2008, five years after Benton's death.
Detail map of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States Overview map of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

A: Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Stephen Benton Invents the Rainbow Hologram or Benton Hologram Designed to Viewed under White Light

1968
Benton hologram of the inventor Stephen Benton.
Benton hologram of the inventor Stephen Benton.

In 1968 Stephen A. Benton, then of Polaroid Corporation, and later at MIT's Media Lab, invented the Benton hologram or rainbow hologram, a hologram designed to be viewed under white light illumation rather than laser light, which was required to view holograms before this invention.  

"The rainbow holography recording process uses a horizontal slit to eliminate vertical parallax in the output image, greatly reducing spectral blur while preserving three-dimensionality for most observers. A viewer moving up or down in front of a rainbow hologram sees changing spectral colors rather than different vertical perspectives. Stereopsis and horizontal motion parallax, two relatively powerful cues to depth, are preserved. The holograms found on credit cards are examples of rainbow holograms" (Wikipedia article on rainbow hologram, accessed 11-23-2012).

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