Holograms

Sean F. Johnston is Professor of Science, Technology and Society at the University of Glasgow, UK, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Chartered Physicist (Institute of Physics). He has worked both as an historian and as a scientist. Johnston is a recipient of the Paul Bunge Prize, administered by the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker, for the history of scientific instruments and of the George E. Davis Medal of the Institution of Chemical Engineers, for a history of chemical engineering co-written with Colin Divall. He lives in southern Scotland, where he teaches and researches the historical, social and philosophical aspects of science and technology.

• PART A: VISUAL CULTURE AND MODERNITY: THE BACKSTORY TO HOLOGRAMS; PART B: MAKING SENSE OF HOLOGRAMS; PART C: HOLOGRAM CULTURES

Johnston has written a cultural, technological and historical exposition of the hologram. Johnston argues that artifacts and people intermingle and the recognition of this fact is essential to an understanding of the development and use of the hologram. Johnston poses the fascinating question of why holograms never gained popularity among consumerssimilar to the way the television grew in prominence. The author tackles this subject and many other relevant questions throughout this discourse on a modern technology. With numerous illustrations and photographs, an extensive bibliography, and two appendices, the author has composed a historical work that thoroughly explains both the technical and cultural importance of the hologram.