Preserving the Holy Word of God in Space: Part One ...
* Photonics is at forefront of emerging technologies
* Lasers will communicate between orbital habitats
* Bible will be stored as holographic data
* Data densities are at the molecular level
* Entire Library of Congress contents stored in size of sugar cube
By FRANK DEFREITAS for WONDERS OF THE BIBLE
PUBLISHED: November 1, 2019 | UPDATED: November 1, 2019
PODCAST: Preserving the Holy Word of God in Space: Part One
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IMPORTANT NOTE: Holography is a Nobel prize-winning field of physics. Therefore, as such, there is a very specific process undertaken in making, and displaying, real holograms. If one does not follow the methods of holography, then one has not made a hologram. This field has always drawn charlatans from as far back as I, and holographers from around the world, can remember ... and I go back to 1968 with my interest, and to 1983 with my lab. I know that people, in their hearts, most times have the best intentions, and many times are not even aware. Please keep in mind that something is not always a hologram ... just because it is called a hologram. Many times you'll find out that the "hologram" has nothing to do with holography at all. Thank you. -- Frank DeFreitas
(above photo): Researching the Future: Lasers, optics and holograms will one day help to preserve the Word of God. Light-based communication technologies will be the de-facto mode of communication both within and between orbital space habitats. The photon will take the place of the electron within circuits, and take the place of traditional carrier waves in point-to-point communications.
Preserving His Holy Word in Space: Part One
The Hologram Bible
The author, a retired laser holographer, looks at how the Word of God will be preserved as we move from the surface of the Earth to orbital and surface colonies in space. Part one answers ten questions about the Holy Bible recorded as holographic data storage. Part two (in 2020) will be a presentation on free-space laser communication. Listen along with the PODCAST.
NOVEMBER 2019 PROGRAM: How do we pass the preserved Word of the Holy Bible onto generations of the future? Let's look to lasers, holograms and photonics …
Hello, my name is Frank DeFreitas, and welcome to Wonders of the Bible ….
Back in May of 2012, an entirely new way of experiencing, and communicating, the Holy Bible took place in a humble row home in a small Pennsylvania town. This Bible is unlike ANY other Bible before it, which is a rather bold statement, but true. You are not likely to read about it in popular magazines, nor see it on national news. I (Frank DeFreitas) created this Bible in my laser holography studio/lab, which I founded back in 1983. Today, in 2019, I am retired after 35+ years of working within the Nobel prize-winning fields of lasers and holography.
(above photos): NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications: (left) NASA’s Psyche mission to a distant metal asteroid will carry a revolutionary Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) package, which replaces traditional radio waves with photons (1064nm uplink; 1550nm downlink). This artist’s concept shows Psyche spacecraft with a five-panel array (top); communications scheme (bottom); and the laser optical package itself (right). Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State Univ./Space Systems Loral/Peter Rubin. Click on Image for Detail
With this broadcast, I would like to answer a few of the most common questions about the future of the Bible, and laser communications in general. These are the most-often asked questions from visitors of all ages at my Wonders of the Bible exhibits and presentations:
Q1. Is the hologram Bible really a Bible?
Yes. This Bible is a real Bible stored as a real laser HOLOGRAM. The hologram contains all 1,245 individual pages, and 773,746 words of the King James Version. Its size matches whatever diameter of laser beam is used in reconstructing it: if the laser beam is 1mm in diameter, than this is the surface area of the holographic emulsion that is used for transmission. If the laser beam has a larger diameter, then THAT is the surface area of the holographic emulsion used for reconstruction and transmission. Every word of the Bible is contained within a single laser beam, all at the same time. However, to the eye, there is nothing on the hologram film at all.
It is important to note that it is not an electronic chip, nor does it contain any electronic information. It is not a computer file. Nor is it a big image that is made really small through reduction. Holographic information is stored onto a special laser sensitive photopolymer emulsion.
Q2. What is a hologram?
Holography is a Nobel prize-winning field of physics. It allows objects to be recorded in true 3-dimensional fidelity called holograms. It is also used in various technical applications, such as holographic data storage and non-destructive testing. The Hologram Bible project shows that vast amounts of information can be stored in a very small area when stored holographically. The density of the information is so high, that the entire contents of the U.S. Library of Congress could be stored -- theoretically -- within the area the size of a sugar cube.
(above photo): How to Make a Hologram: Illustration (click photo to enlarge detail.) showing the making and viewing of a laboratory laser transmission hologram. The Hologram Bible utilized a similar table set-up, except for the light passing *through* the object, rather than being reflected off the object. The entire system must be isolated from external vibrations (including thermal drift). Photo from a newspaper article which showcased my work with holography in Allentown, PA.
Download and listen to the PODCAST HERE.
A very interesting aspect is that every Word of God is located at every point in space, and all at the same time. The "Words" of the Hologram Bible are not physical in the sense that they are not "localized" to a given place, such as a location on a page (as with a book, electronic or otherwise). The Words in the Hologram Bible do not physically exist, in the physical sense that we know it. They exist as pure light only. You can pass your hand through the light that contains every Word of God. You can project this light into a darkened room, and have the room itself lit with every Word of God. This is truly the most important aspect of the Hologram Bible project. It has never been possible to do this before, and the people who see it are the first in the world.
Q3. What is the Hologram Bible made of?
The Hologram Bible is recorded onto a material known as photopolymer. Photopolymer is what I would call a transformational material: once it experiences light, changes take place within, and it is transformed into something new. Before it comes into the light, it is vulnerable to outside forces (such as light) and thus is unstable. After it receives light, it becomes stable (through the cross-linking of photopolymer molecules), and is no longer vulnerable to outside forces. Therefore, it is transformed into what it was initially created to be, and ultimately reaches its full potential, through its presence within the light of the laser.
Q4. How does one read The Hologram Bible?
All that is required in most cases is a simple laser pointer. Why? Because the enlarging optics are encoded directly into the hologram. Since a hologram can record 3-dimensional objects in 3-dimensional space, it is possible to also encode and record the 3-dimensional optics that enlarge the image. And we can embed these enlarging optics right into the hologram.
In other words, in normal everyday cases, one would use a microscope -- along with its associated enlarging lenses -- to view something very small. With the Hologram Bible, this microscopic action is recorded, and embedded, right into the hologram. Once recorded, they function just as if they existed in the physical world. All of this information … the Bible and the enlarging optical system, cannot be detected by the unaided human eye. But when you touch the right area with a laser beam, the Bible then becomes encoded into the laser beam passing through the hologram. This is then holographically 'projected' out from the hologram, via the laser beam, onto any wall, ceiling or screen in a darkened room.
(above photo): Reconstruction: Image shows the title page to the Hologram Bible taken from the 1964 New York World's Fair NCR microform Bible. This hologram utilizes photopolymer emulsion, which experiences a cross-linking of polymer molecules for fringe storage. I believe that a much shorter wavelength (both recording and playback) will yield even higher resolutions.
In order to record The Hologram Bible, a laser, optics, and a vibration isolation system are needed. The information is stored so densely, that the Bible glows when held in the light at certain angles. This is known as diffraction. The holographic reconstruction of the Bible is not located in the same physical space as the holographic film. It is this reconstructed laser holographic information -- not the physical hologram -- that must be projected to view.
Q5. What are the drawbacks?
Even though holographic emulsions have the highest resolving powers in the world today, there are certainly a few technical difficulties yet to overcome. Due to current limitations in the resolving power, the text is "there" but not clearly readable. However, one can clearly see and count the pages, so I know that as storage technology advances, this issue will resolve itself. It is certainly a "Bible of the Future" ... not necessarily a "Bible for Today". Remember how photography, motion pictures and television got started -- and how their image quality improved with each new advancement. With that being said, anyone who sees the Hologram Bible today is seeing the future. And that, in and of itself, is worth more than words could say!
Download and listen to the PODCAST HERE.
With individual scripture, that is a completely different story. If you take the Lord's Prayer, for instance, that can be both recorded and reconstructed with very high fidelity. So the best way that I use to demonstrate that it can, indeed, be done, is with individual scripture passages.
Q6. What Bible did you use for the hologram?
I used what is known as an NCR microform Bible for the holographic recording. It contains the King James Version. 500 NCR microform Bibles went to the moon with Apollo astronaut Ed Mitchell. At the time, it was the smallest Bible in the world, and had been featured at the New York World's Fair. People stood in long lines to see this micro Bible on display.
Q7. How would this Bible be used in the future?
Assuming that mankind reaches what we call the future, I can envision this Bible being used on orbital space colonies, along with any lunar or Mars outposts. God promised that He would preserve His Word, so if there is going to be a future for humanity, then His Word will be included in this future.
An interesting side note is that the holographic image can be utilized as a carrier for other information transmitted at the same time. Holotelegraphy (holotelegraphics) are terms I've coined for 3D laser holograms that communicate with the viewer (May 2014). The system utilizes: (1) a laser transmitter, which encodes a message into an optical signal, (2) a channel, which carries the signal to its destination (a hologram), and (3) a receiver, which reproduces the message emitted from the resulting modulated holographic image.
For now, I'll mention the fact that laser and holographic technology is zero mass. Since mass is something that is very expensive to lift into space, we will need Bibles that have very little to no mass. While it may eventually wind up on a screen, you can bet that its storage will be with photons, not electrons, and that its storage media will be holographic.
(above photo): The Bible at a Science Museum: (left) The Hologram Bible was unveiled at the New York Hall of Science in 2012. Nearly 70,000 people attended the World Maker Faire event. Here is a family that stopped by to view both the Hologram Bible, and also the famous NCR microform Bible (under the microscope); (right) Presenting the Hologram Bible to the public at a local farmers market.
Q8. Who is involved with the Hologram Bible?
The Hologram Bible was not created in a large corporate research laboratory or university. It was a project of my wife, and me, as a collaborative team: Frank and Debi DeFreitas, out of our modest row home in a small town in Pennsylvania. I am a holographer with a background in printing technologies, and my wife is a registered nurse and works in geriatrics. I had my laser holography lab since 1983. I no longer have my "big" lab and now have a small, portable laser and holography system at our retirement residence.
Q9: Can I visit you?
Not any more. From 1983 until 2017 I welcomed visitors from all over the world. But now I am retired, and we are living in our retirement residence.
Q10. Do You Provide Presentations?
Yes I do, but now after retiring after 35 years, it is on a very limited basis, during spring and fall. I can bring a presentation of the Hologram Bible Project to your church group, school or organization. I travel within a reasonable distance from Allentown, PA. This would include areas such as Philadelphia, Scranton, Harrisburg, Lancaster, northern Maryland, areas of New Jersey, and Delaware, etc. I can travel farther with overnight accommodations. I do not charge a fee for Hologram Bible presentations. I rely on the kindness of an honorarium or freewill offering of any amount. Please call me at: 484-387-5320 to discuss. Ask for Frank. I have spent 35 years providing award-winning educational services for The Franklin Institute, New York Hall of Science, the Smithsonian Institution, schools and universities. I would love to provide a program for you.
Download and listen to the PODCAST HERE.
In closing: It is true that, so far, every generation of Christians has had a "next generation" to follow it. And each and every generation must prepare the next generation for the future of Christianity. I doubt that many people sitting in the pews of the 1800's would have agreed that we would one day be living in space (such as with the space station so far), or that we would one day land on the moon. We not only did these things, but we are now living past them. Let's think seriously about the science and technologies that will one day take God's Word into our future.
See more about the Hologram Bible at wondersofthebible.org
Once again, my name is Frank DeFreitas, and may God Bless you today -- and every day -- and, remember, to always love others, just as Jesus Christ loves you!
Part two will be a presentation on free-space laser communication.
"Science is the study of the physical manifestations of God in action."
-- Frank DeFreitas (Click Here for BIO)
