It’s Sunday afternoon. You sink into your leather sofa and turn on the TV. Suddenly, the Bears (or the Panthers) are playing in three dimensions right on top of your coffee table.
Sounds like science-fiction, but according to researchers at the University of Arizona, a recent breakthrough in erasable holographic technology could mean that your LCD or plasma screen TV will soon be obsolete.
The team of Wildcats has been trying to crack holograms since 1990, but earlier this year they were able to create updatable displays with memory, which Dr. Peyghambarian insists is the biggest hurdle. With that barrier broken, it’s only a matter of time before the images can be updated as quickly as the images on your television screen.
Peyghambarian goes on to list more practical applications, like 3-D surgery and defense operations. He says the holographic screens could be wall-mounted or horizontal, like a table.
There are a few things I wouldn’t want to watch on a holographic TV. Like The Shining. Or Alien. Or any other movie where things would pop out into my living room and scare the sweat out of my pores.
Meanwhile, in Chicago…
Last week was cold. I had to invest in some heavier clothes. The weather has been beautiful though…brisk and breezy, but also sunny and colorful. Some of the leaves in Ukrainian Village are just starting to gild. People seem to take Halloween seriously here in the Midwest - there are already pumpkins and faux-cobwebs everywhere. Not that I’m complaining: October is one of my Three Favorite Times of the Year (along with pre-Christmas December, and the first month of Spring).
