Holography:

A method of producing a three-dimensional image of an object by recording on a photographic

plate or film the pattern of interference formed by a split laser beam and then illuminating the
pattern either with a laser or with ordinary light.

Hologram:
A three-dimensional representation in photographic form, recorded on film by a reflected laser beam of a
subject illuminated by part of the same laser beam.

A closer look to produce a simple hologram, a beam of coherent, monochromatic light, such as that
produced by a laser, is split into two beams. One part, the object or illumination beam, is directed onto
the object and reflected onto a high-resolution photographic plate. The other part, the reference beam,
is beamed directly onto the photographic plate. The interference pattern of the two light beams is
recorded on the plate. When the developed hologram is illuminated from behind (in the same direction
as the original reference beam) by a beam of coherent light, it projects a three-dimensional image of the
original object in space, shifting in perspective when viewed from different angles.
Appropriately enough, the word hologram comes from the Greek words holos, "whole," and gramma,
"message." If a hologram is cut into pieces, each piece projects the entire image, but as if viewed from a
smaller subset of angles. The large amount of information contained in holograms makes them harder
to forge than two-dimensional images. Many credit cards, CDs, sports memorabilia, and other items
include holographic stickers as indicators of authenticity. Holography is used in many fields, including
medicine, data storage, architecture, engineering, and the arts.