Can You Turn a Smartphone into a 3D Hologram?

Objective

My objective was to make at least one prism that could project a hologram. My prisms were able to stand on a Smartphone and tablet, and project a hologram.

Goal

My goal was to have the prisms work well when I tested them, and have the plastic as symmetrical as possible. I expected the prisms to be highly effective when I tested them, because the plastic had close to no scratches, and the tape made the prisms very sturdy.

Design

I built my prisms with very simple and cheap items. I used plastic that I found around my house and cut it out with a glass cutter to make trapezoids. I then used scotch tape, and taped the plastic pieces together to make trapezoidal prisms.

Conclusion

My objective was met because I made four functionable prisms that could project a 3D hologram. Nothing was unsuccessful, because all of the prisms projected a hologram. My design could be improved by having the prisms look neater. For example, I could have used hot glue to bind the sides of the prisms together.

Abstract

Can You Turn a Smartphone Into a 3D Hologram?

Danny Collins

For my Science Fair project, I chose to test whether or not you could have an ordinary Smartphone project a 3D hologram. My goal was to make trapezoidal prisms out of plastic that could be found around any household, and when I put them on a Smartphone, a hologram could be able to be seen. I wanted to make sure that the hologram was clear, and the project could be done by anyone. I was inspired to pick this project after watching a YouTube video on how to turn a Smartphone into a 3D hologram. I wanted to see if the video was not just a fake, and there could be holograms projected from any smartphone. I also chose this topic because if I was successful, it could revolutionize electronic devices forever.

I started by collecting a thin sheet of plastic. I made sure the plastic had no scratches, and was clear enough so that the holograms could be shown. In addition I measured out the prisms, and traced the dimensions with a pen on the plastic. I then measured out the prisms. The first prism’s dimensions were 1 by 3.5 by 6 centimeters. The second prism’s dimensions were 5 by 3 by 7 centimeters. The third prisms’ dimensions were 3 by 3.5 by 5.5 centimeters. The fourth prism’s dimensions are 2 by 4 by 4 centimeters, and 5.5 by 4 by 5.5 centimeters. I then used a glass cutter to cut out the prisms. I had to go over the the lines a few times with the cutter, to cut the prisms out. I also made sure that the glass cutter was right on the line to make the dimensions as accurate as possible. After I cut them out, I used clear scotch tape and taped the plastic together at the corners to form the prisms.

I found that many of the prisms did well in projecting the holograms. The prism with the smallest hole, prism 1, did the best out of all prisms. It scored an eight on my scale because the hologram looked clear, the it wasn’t very blurry, but the neatness could have been improved. In addition the prism with the large hole, prism 2, scored the least highest on my scale. The prism was functional, but the hologram could barely be seen, it was blurry, and it didn’t look as well as the other ones. The prism with the medium size hole, prism 3, scored a seven on my scale. It scored a seven on my scale for many reasons. The hologram could be seen, but some of it was cut off. Furthermore, the prism looked neat, but the hologram almost had a duplicate behind it. Finally, the prism which had a rectangular hole, prism four, scored a six on my scale. The prism had a duplicate behind it, and was also blurry. The prism also could be well seen, was centered, and did look nice.

From this project, I learned that it is possible for any Smartphone to project a 3D hologram, and it’s very simple to do so too. My goal was reached because I made not 1, but 4 functionable prisms to project a hologram. My project was very accurate because I made sure that the measurements were as close as possible, the plastic was clear, and the tape was clear and didn’t get in the way of the hologram. My project could be improved in a few ways. Instead of using tape, I could have used hot glue to stick the pieces of plastic together. I could also have cut the plastic better to make sure the pieces were all the same size.