Picting

What is Picting?

Members of the Hexamon in Eon communicate partly by speech and partly by picting. Picting is the projection of holograms that represent thoughts and feelings. Picts are projected through torques, worn around the neck. The picting differs from current holograms in that it doesn't need to be printed on a page, nor does it need to be projected onto fog to be seen.

Back to the top of this page

Holograms today

Holograms can be seen today in a vast variety of places, from on bookmarks to at major international events. The bookmark variety are usually just three dimensional patterns, or simple objects in psychedelic colours. These images are created by exposing a photographic plate to a split laser, half of which has been reflected off an object. When the two laser beams recombine on the photographic plate, the resulting interference patterns produce the optical illusion of a three dimensional image.
The holograms seen at dance parties and fireworks displays are produced by shining a laser into a mist. The laser reflects off the mist, resulting in a sheet or cone of light or, with careful manipulation of the lasers, a simple picture.
A type of hologram that you may have seen is the 'magic eye'. A magic eye picture fools the brain by sending conflicting messages to each eye. You can do something similar here. Move your face close to the screen, and then stare off into space, behind the screen. Now move your head back, until the lines below overlap. If you can get the lines into focus they will appear to float in front of the screen. This does require a bit of a knack, and it may be easier to do with someone who can already see 'magic eye' helping you out.

This effect is used to find lost trails in the bush. Two aerial photographs are taken from slightly different positions, and one is viewed through each eye. The resulting image will look 3D. By moving the photos further apart, the 3D effect can be exaggerated, making it easier to see trails between the trees.

Back to the top of this page

How it might work

I can think of two possibilities for picting. If you have any other suggestions, or wish to comment on mine, please email me at micah_j@hotmail.com.

The split photon method

If a beam of light is fired at a transparent surface that is 50% reflective at that angle, half the beam is reflected and half passes through. If the beam only consists of one photon, then that photon gets split in two. The advantage of this is that if one of these half photons is manipulated, it affects the other half. If one half photon was placed inside the torque of a picter, then it could be manipulated. This would in turn influence the second half photon. If this second half could be made to fly off from a particular point in a particular direction, at a particular frequency, then it could combine with countless other half photons to form a pict.

The fireworks method

This method requires a particle that has a known, fixed rate of decay, and that has a very low 'standard deviation of decay', that is, all particles of this type decay after the same time period. The particle must also give off light when it decays. If particles of this type are fired so that they all decay at the same time and in a certain formation, then the result would be a three dimensional picture, hanging in mid air- a pict.

Back to The Science of Eon subject menu
Back to the Capital Dreaming Home Page

Email Me at micah_j@hotmail.com