Object Details
Description (Brief)
This toy train was used in 1963 and 1964 as the subject for several of the earliest publically seen holograms. In late 1963, Emmett Leith and Juris Upatnieks at the University of Michigan’s Willow Run Laboratories demonstrated a method of making high-resolution, three-dimensional images using laser beams. Their success came after years of research by many scientists, so while “Toy Train” was not the first hologram, the quality of the image stunned everyone. In 1970 Leith and Upatnieks donated about a dozen of their early holograms and the toy train to the Smithsonian.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
from Emmett N. Leith and Juris Upatnieks
date made
ca 1963
ID Number
EM.330400
catalog number
330400
accession number
288880
Object Name
holography model
toy train
Physical Description
metal (overall material)
plastic (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 2 1/8 in x 1 1/2 in x 7 1/2 in; 5.3975 cm x 3.81 cm x 19.05 cm
See more items in
Work and Industry: Electricity
Photography
Data Source
National Museum of American History
subject
Toys
Laser
Hologram
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_1292469