Where should a beginner start on HoloWiki?

Updated

Start with Beginner's Corner, then read Holography Safety before you attempt any setup. HoloWiki is the Holography Forum's wiki — "A Holography FAQ and Database for anyone who makes holograms" — and its main page is organized so a newcomer can move from basic concepts to equipment and experiments in a sensible order. The site is hosted by John Fisher, the volunteer site administrator, and the associated forum at holographyforum.org is where discussion happens.

A practical reading order

The main page groups its contents into four sections. For a beginner, this sequence works:

  1. Basic Information → Beginner's Corner — "Basic information for getting a start in holography." This is the intended entry point.
  2. Advanced Information → Holography Safety — chemical and laser safety, flagged on the page as "A must read!"
  3. Basic Information → Equipment and Homemade Equipment — what you need to make holograms, and what you can build yourself.
  4. Basic Information → Experimenter's Corner and Hints and Kinks — things to try, plus tips and techniques shared by other holographers.
  5. Basic Information → Gallery — examples of "success, failure, and experiments," useful for calibrating what results actually look like.

What each starting section gives you

Section What it covers When to use it
Beginner's Corner Basic information for getting started First stop, before buying or building anything
Holography Safety Chemical and laser safety Before handling chemicals or running a laser
Equipment Things used in making holograms When planning your setup
Homemade Equipment Equipment that is easily made at home When budget or availability is a constraint
Experimenter's Corner Odd things to try, or what others have tried Once you have a working basic setup
Hints and Kinks Tips and techniques shared by others When troubleshooting or refining technique
Gallery Success, failure, and experiments To compare your results against real examples

Beyond the basics

Once the fundamentals are clear, the wiki branches into:

  • Dichromated Gelatin — basic information about "branching off into the realm of DCG holography," with a separate History of Dichromate Holography timeline.
  • Holography Technology — hardware and setups for making holograms.
  • Hologram Recording Materials — how to get, make, and use them, plus chemistry.
  • Holography Theory — the mathematics and science behind holography.
  • Holography Glossary and Abbreviations — technical terms and common shorthand used by holographers.
  • History of Holography and Biographies of Holographers — the people and technology behind the field.

Recent additions worth knowing about

The "New Stuff and Recent Additions" list on the main page points to material that may not be linked from the beginner path, including:

  • Presentation slides from the Tenth International Symposium on Display Holography, provided by Petr Lobaz.
  • An albumen plates experiment by Filipe Alves.
  • A cold water processing article and a compilation of chemistry for holographic developers and bleaches, both courtesy of Ed Wesly.
  • A DCG color tuning guide derived from the Holography Forum archives.

If you get stuck

The main page notes that the Holography Forum "has moved back to its original home at http://holographyforum.org/forum." You can browse discussion threads as a guest, and the page states it "costs nothing to sign up as a full forum member" — newcomers are described as warmly welcomed. That forum is the place to ask questions the wiki doesn't answer.