Coughlin 690 Using Scratch Holography in the Middle School Science Classroom 12 15 10 Using Scratch Holography in the Middle School Science Classroom Timothy R Coughlin Department of Physics SUNY Buffalo State College 1300 Elmwood Ave Buffalo NY 14222 tcoughlin lancaster wnyric org Acknowledgment This manuscript was prepared in partial fulfillment of requirements for PHY690 Masters Project in Physics Education at SUNY Buffalo State College under the guidance of Dr Dan MacIsaac 1 of 20 Coughlin 690 Using Scratch Holography in the Middle School Science Classroom 12 15 10 Abstract This paper reports how scratch holography was used by a New York State middle school science teacher in his physical science classroom as well as how scratch holography affords science teachers a unique opportunity to make overarching connections between light and matter by introducing an inquiry based physical science activity in their middle school level classroom Evidence was shown that using scratch holography as an activity aids science teachers in unifying scientific themes and processes in their year long curricular plan for their students that is consistent with both state and national science standards William Beaty s Draw Holograms by Hand link http amasci com amateur holo1 html on his Science Hobbyist website was used as the primary source for the design of the presented activity as well as for troubleshooting within the activity 2 of 20 Coughlin 690 Using Scratch Holography in the Middle School Science Classroom 12 15 10 Introduction It was my goal to find a classroom activity that would allow students to make connections between scientific topics presented during the course of a school year In doing so students could reflect on prior knowledge while engaging in processes of science and gain operational knowledge of that process For many years compelling arguments have been made for holography to be taught in formal education classrooms at many levels for the very traits I was looking for in an activity Latham discussed how holography can be used to teach many of the principles of wave interference and light production in one unit Latham 1986 396 Dr Tung Jeong argues holography is not merely a craft it combines meticulous laboratory techniques with extremely elegant formal theory Indeed a single hologram contains all the major theories of physical and geometric optics Jeong 1975 Holography is one area that has become an exciting avenue for educators to use for their students to learn due to recent reductions in cost of lasers film and chemicals Jeong et al 2003 and seemed like a perfect opportunity to allow my students to experience the first hand connection between two topics that are traditionally presented apart from each other in middle school text books matter and light To cut down on time and the chemistry in development of film recent options have also been made available for self developing Instant Hologram film Chiaverina 2010 Despite the lowered costs my personal school budget did not allow for me to purchase enough material in order to give each student their own hologram This however did not mean that my students could not be afforded the opportunity to experience holography William Beaty a research engineer at the University of Washington began a website in 1995 entitled Science Hobbyist http amasci com that now boasts nearly 20 000 000 visitors since its inception While the site links to numerous scientific topics of discussion and science education I would 3 of 20 Coughlin 690 Using Scratch Holography in the Middle School Science Classroom 12 15 10 like to give attention to the link entitled Draw Holograms by Hand http amasci com amateur holo1 html Beaty proceeds to describe holograms produced by scratches to a solid surface or scratch holograms Unlike the conventional holography for making this type of hologram by hand neither a darkroom with isolation table and expensive laser nor highly photosensitive film plates are necessary Augier Sanchez 2010 This was a phenomena Beaty chanced upon while walking through a parking lot and noticing a threedimensional hand floating in the hood of a car left by a polishing mitt that had traced out millions of nearly parallel scratches in the black paint Jones Bey 2003 A scratch hologram works similarly to a rainbow hologram like the kind found on licensed clothing apparel or in the corner of a credit card Both can be viewed under white light illumination rather than under a monochromatic point source like a laser Each scratch acts as what Beaty calls a curved line scatter which can act as a convex or concave spherical mirror producing either an astigmatic real or virtual image of the distant point source Beaty 2003 4 of 20 Coughlin 690 Using Scratch Holography in the Middle School Science Classroom 12 15 10 Figure 1 An individual scratch or scatterer as it reflects light to produce a holographic image star for an individual observer based upon where the observer is located Essentially a source of light shines upon the scratched surface and reflects off each individual scatterer and creates virtual images into the surface from different observable view points Beaty explains that human stereopsis lets observers perceive either of the two virtual images based on their position by looking through the curved scatterer as if the scatterer behaves as a slit aperture Beaty 2003 Figure 1 illustrates how the position of the observer impacts how it the image will be seen By viewing directly over the scratched surface the image appears to have depth within the surface Point B of Figure 1 while viewing it from different angles allows the image to be viewed as coming out of the surface Point A of Figure 1 To recreate a hologram of this kind only a piece of sturdy plastic e g Plexiglass a pair of dividers and a source of light are necessary Curricular Rationale A scratch hologram activity could be used to discuss optics the nature of light and the interaction of light and matter and therefore could fit into the yearlong holistic plan of a teacher The National Science Education Standards states that conceptual and procedural schemes unify science disciplines and provide students with powerful ideas to help them understand the natural world NRC 1996 p 104 Scratch holography itself aids to unify conceptual and procedural scientific themes about the nature of light and its interaction with materials by providing an avenue for students to integrate personal
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