What image will one see if a hologram is recorded using monochromatic light but its image is viewed in white light? Explain.

Imagine a sea with waves all moving at the exact same rhythm and speed. This is akin to monochromatic light, which is composed of waves that share the same wavelength and frequency. This uniformity means it exhibits a single color when perceived by human eyes. In practical applications, lasers often generate monochromatic light for their preciseness and ability to produce clear interference patterns, crucial for techniques like holography.

This specificity of wavelength allows monochromatic light to create detailed and unambiguous holographic images. Because there is only one color, the interference pattern – which is essentially the core of a hologram – reflects that singularity, representing high fidelity to the original object's shape and surface details. Contrast that with white light, and you’ll notice how the singleness of monochromatic light aids in the creation of sharp and nuanced holographic imagery without the complexity of multiple overlapping wavelengths.

Have you ever tried to capture a 3D scene with a regular camera and been disappointed that it just doesn't look 'real'? Holography bypasses this limitation by recording not just light intensity, but the phase of light too. Think of it as recording a scene with all its depth and nuance. This is achieved through a complex dance between coherent monochromatic light waves and the interaction with the subject's reflected light waves.

Creating a Hologram

Constructing a hologram involves splitting a beam of monochromatic light, such as from a laser, then allowing one part (the reference beam) to interfere with the other part that has bounced off the object (the object beam). The resulting pattern etched onto a recording medium is like a unique fingerprint, containing all the necessary information to reconstruct the original 3D scene when viewed under suitable lighting conditions.

Imagine pouring a blend of different paints through a fine sieve and watching them spread out into individual colors. This is a bit how white light dispersion behaves when passing through certain media, like a prism. White light is a mixture containing a full spectrum of colors that the human eye can detect. Each color component has its own wavelength; when they traverse through a medium other than vacuum, they slow down at different rates, causing them to refract or bend by various amounts.

This phenomenon, known as dispersion, separates white light into its constituent colors, resulting in a rainbow effect. Such dispersion is often beautiful, as seen in rainbows and in the light passing through finely cut glass. In holography, viewing a hologram under white light reveals these myriad colors. While dispersion adds an appealing aesthetic, it can cause blurring for colors not matching the monochromatic recording light, since the hologram's interference pattern is optimized for that specific wavelength.