Holography , like many great discoveries, is almost an accident. Searching for methods to improve the resolution of electron microscopy, Dr. Dennis Gabor, a scientist at the Imperial College of London, reasoned that by comparing the light shining through an object with a standard reference light he could record not only the brightness but also the spacial relationship of one point of light to another. He made what is called a phase comparison. This is the discovery that makes holography unique as a photographic technique. Using a mercury arc lamp with a green filter, he produced the first " in-line " transmission hologram of a thin transparency in 1948. It proved his theory but was very crude imagery and impractible because the hologram was veiwed with a light that shined directly into the viewers eyes. Despite Dr. Gabor's theorizing about the use of spectrally pure ( coherent ) light, holography lay dormant untill 1960 when T.A. Maiman, of Hughes Aircraft company, demonstrated his first L.A.S.E.R. ( Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation ), a ruby crystal which when stimulated produced a pulse of intense spectrally pure light . Finally there was a light source consistently pure enough to produce predictable results. Soon a gas laser was created that could sustain a consistent beam of the pure light . From then on scientific developements were rapid. In this country, two scientists at the University of Michigan, Emmit Leith and Juris Upatnieks, used the laser to make the first "off axis transmission " hologram. This is the technique that made holography practical. Now the viewing light could come from the side angle and pass by the veiwer. To make this hologram they split the beam , and one part was spread to cover a piece of light sensitive film ( the reference beam ) and the other part was spread to shine on and reflect from an object (the object beam ). When the light coming off the object and the reference beam meet at the film they produce a pattern on the film that is a combination of both ( interference ) . The film is developed . When the reference beam alone is shone through the film, the pattern changes the direction of the beam ( diffraction ) to appear to come from the original points on the object. This is the holographic image. Within a year Russian holographers had produced the first white light viewable " reflection " hologram that used light reflected off the hologram rather than transmitted through it to create the image. A number of variations and experiments followed . The next major advancement came when several years later when Steven Benton of the Poloroid corporation developed a method that allowed the viewing of transmission holograms in white light it was called a " rainbow " hologram because of its display of the spectrum vertically and it changed color as the veiwer moved up and down. Lloyd Cross developed a technique ( " integral " holography ), which allowed frames of motion picture film to be converted into holgrams with the ability to show movement and for live subjects and natural light scenes to be recorded . The rainbow hologram proved to be the first step in the developement of the most recognizable form of holography, the "embossed " hologram. By producing a rainbow hologram on a light sensitive material called " photoresist ", which produces a relief pattern , a plating process can produce a thin metal shim from the hologram that can be put on a printing press and holograms can be " stamped out " and therefore mass produced very inexpensively. These are the holograms we see everyday on credit cards and cerial boxes. Currently work toward developing more naturalistic color and the use of computers to create artwork for holograms are being pursued. To house , teach and encourage the growth of holography, The Fine Arts Research and Holographic Center was founded in 1976. It is comprised of the Museum of Holography, The School of Holography ( not for profit organizations ) and Holographic Design Systems a commercial company which produces all forms of holograms. The name was shortened to The Holographic Center in 1995.