Lippmann plate

File:Colodión húmedo, collodion wet plate process, el colodión se vierte en una placa de vidrio, IPCE, Madrid, España.jpg of silver halide dispersed in gelatin is coated onto a glass photographic plate (Shown here: collodion solution). Later, the back is painted black and a prism is glued to the front to control reflection.]]

In Lippmann's method, a glass plate is coated with an ultra fine grain"[http://spiedigitallibrary.org/proceedings/resource/2/psisdg/3358/1/95_1?isAuthorized=no Recent developments in Lippman photography"], Jean-Marc Fournier, Benjamin R. Alexander, et al.;Proc. SPIE 3358, 95 (1998) light-sensitive film (originally using the albumen process containing potassium bromide; later and primarily using silver halide gelatin),{{cite journal |last1=Bjelkhagen |first1=Hans |date=19 Jan 2015 |title=Lippmann photography: Reviving an early colour process |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03087298.1999.10443331 |journal=History of Photography |publisher=Taylor & Francis |doi=10.1080/03087298.1999.10443331 |url-access=subscription |access-date=26 October 2024}} then dried, sensitized in the silver bath, washed, irrigated with cyanine solution, and dried again. The back of the film is then brought into optical contact with a reflective surface. This originally was done by mounting the plate in a specialized holder with pure mercury behind the film. When it is exposed in the camera through the glass side of the plate, the light rays which strike the transparent light-sensitive film are reflected back on themselves and, by interference, create standing waves. The standing waves cause exposure of the emulsion in diffraction patterns. The developed and fixated diffraction patterns constitute a Bragg condition in which diffuse, white light is scattered in a specular fashion and undergoes constructive interference in accordance to Bragg's law.Bragg diffraction The result is an image having very similar colours as the original using a black and white photographic process.

For this method Lippmann won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1908.{{cite web |url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/articles/biedermann/index.html |title=Lippmann's and Gabor's Revolutionary Approach to Imaging |website=nobelprize.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060712011307/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/articles/biedermann/index.html |archive-date=2006-07-12}}

The colour image can only be viewed in the reflection of a diffuse light source from the plate, making the field of view limited, and therefore not easily copied with conventional techniques. The method was very insensitive with the emulsions of the time and it never came into general use. Another reason Lippmann's process of colour photography did not succeed can be found in the invention of the autochrome plates by the Lumière brothers. A technique derived from the Lippmann technique has been proposed as a method of producing images which can easily be viewed, but not copied, for security purposes.{{Cite web |url=http://holowiki.nss.rpi.edu/wiki/Lippmann_Security |title=Optically Variable Device for Security Documents |last1=Bjelkhagen |first1=Hans |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021022005/http://holowiki.nss.rpi.edu/wiki/Lippmann_Security |archive-date=21 October 2021}}

File:Lippmann Still life.jpg|A still life by Lippmann

File:Lippmann Venice.jpg|Venice by Lippmann

File:Lippmann Saas Fee.jpg|Saas-Fee by Lippmann

File:Parrot photo made by Gabriel Lippmann in 1891.jpg|An 1899 interferential photograph of a stuffed parrot made by {{ill|Richard Neuhauss|de}}

File:Bouquet de Fleurs-laboratoire de physique de la faculté des sciences de Lille par Auguste Ponsot vers 1905.png|A 1906 interferential photograph by {{ill|Auguste Ponsot|fr|Auguste Ponsot (physicien)}}, Lippmann's student and colleague

• The Kodak Spectroscopic Plate Type 649-F is specified with a resolving power of 2000 lines/mm.{{cite book |title=Kodak Plates and Films for Scientific Photography |year=1973 |publisher=Eastman Kodak Company |location=Rochester |isbn=0-87985-083-3 |page=13d}}
• A diffusion method for making silver bromide based holographic recording material was published.{{Citation |last=Blyth |first=Jeff |author2=Roger B. Millington |author3=Andrew G. Mayes |author4=Christopher R. Lowe |title=A diffusion method for making silver bromide based holographic recording material |work=Institute of Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge |url=http://www.holoworld.com/holo/paper.html |access-date=July 25, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100128023001/http://www.holoworld.com/holo/paper.html |archive-date=January 28, 2010}}

Because the photographs are so durable, researchers have reworked Lippmann plates for use in archival data storage to replace hard drives.{{cite magazine |last1=Genkina |first1=Dina |date=24 October 2024 |title=A Picture Is Worth 4.6 Terabits: 19th-century photography technique employed in novel data storage method |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/clark-johnson-profile |magazine=IEEE Spectrum |location=New York City |publisher=Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers}} Work began on the project after they were made aware data storage on the International Space Station requires daily maintenance because it can be damaged by cosmic rays and they recalled that silver halide would not be significantly affected by astroparticles (or even electromagnetic pulses from nuclear explosions). 150 standing-wave storage samples placed on the ISS during 2019 showed no signs of data degradation after exposure to cosmic rays for nine months.

• Photochromy
• Holography

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category multi|Photographie interférentielle|Gabriel Lippmann}}

• [https://elysee.ch/en/exhibitions/gabriel-lippmann/ Exhibition of Gabriel Lippmann photochromes][https://actu.epfl.ch/news/lausanne-museum-unveils-the-secrets-of-the-first-c/ with associated press materials] at the Photo Élysée museum with technical assistance from EPFL university
• [http://holowiki.org/wiki/Lippmann_Photography Wiki about Lippmann Process] by Holography Forum
• [https://holowiki.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=42 Forum about Lippmann Process] by Holography Forum
• [https://pod.univ-lille.fr/video/5671-les-plaques-precieuses-dauguste-ponsot/ Université de Lille video of photochrome examples] {{In lang|fr}}
• [https://asap.univ-lille.fr/patrimoine-appareils-scientifiques/publications-articles-temoignages Université de Lille article depicting Lippmann plates] {{In lang|fr}}
• [https://www.jonhilty.com/lippmann One set of instructions for making a Lippmann plate]

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Category:Photographic processes

Category:Photographic processes dating from the 19th century

Category:Audiovisual introductions in 1891

Category:French inventions

Category:Luxembourgish inventions

Category:Alternative photographic processes

Category:19th century in art

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Category:Computer data storage

Category:Computer storage devices

Category:Archival technology